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One of the most unusual aspects of the China-Thailand “Falcon Strike” air force exercises concerns the regular participation of Thailand’s Swedish-built Gripen fighter aircraft in exercises between China and a formal treaty ally of the United States. The Royal Thai Air Force’s much-larger fleet of American-built F-16 fighter aircraft does not participate in these exercises, almost certainly as a result of customary American restrictions on such activities. Curiously, the otherwise Swedish Gripen is not free of American technology on account of its turbofan engine, which is a version of the American F404. So far, neither Sweden nor the United States appear to have drawn a firm line in the sand with the aim of bringing the participation of Thai Gripen aircraft in bilateral China-Thailand air force exercises to an end. As a result, the “Falcon Strike” air force exercises continue to offer the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), which is one of the world’s most insular air forces, a valuable opportunity to not only interact with another air force, but train with and against a modern non-Chinese combat aircraft in the form of the Gripen.
