The Royal Thai Navy welcomed its most-celebrated warship in decades when the renamed HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej arrived at the Sattahip Naval Base.
Navy commander-in-chief Adm. Luechai Ruddit presided over the Jan. 7 reception and fleet-enrollment ceremony for the high-performance frigate that was named the HTMS Tachin when it left Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. in South Korea Dec. 22.
During its voyage to Hong Kong, Vietnam and then Thailand, the Royal Household notified the navy that HM the King Maha Vajiralongkorn had ordered FFG-471 renamed after his father, HM King Rama IX.
The 14.6-billion-baht frigate is based on the design of the Gwanggaeto, or Great-class, destroyer built to the standards of the U.S. and South Korean navies.
Leuchai called the ship the most-advanced in the Thai fleet.
Equipped with stealth technology, the multi-role frigate is intended to protect Thailand’s oceans, ensure security shipping routes and engage in disaster-relief operations.
It can support anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-submarine naval missions and is capable of detecting distant targets with a towed array sonar and can attack submarines with torpedoes and long-range weapon systems.
The ship’s defense include an advanced harpoon weapon-control system, anti-aircraft gun and close-in weapons system.
It will carry a 141-man crew, has displacement of 3,700 tons and a maximum speed of 30 knots with an operational range of 4,000 nautical miles.
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