Australia and Thailand conclude joint air combat drills with Super Hornet and Gripen fighter jets
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More than 500 aviators from Australia and Thailand conducted Exercise Thai Boomerang 2025 at Korat Air Base from Sept. 8–19. The drills sharpened combined air combat tactics and signaled deeper Australia–Thailand defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The Australian Department of Defence confirmed the exercise Thai Boomerang 2025, which started on 10 September 2025, with more than 500 aviators from the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Thai Air Force jointly training. The bilateral air combat drill runs through 19 September and concentrates on dissimilar air combat training, large force employment and close air support in a non-confrontational environment. Australia deployed F/A-18F Super Hornets, while Thailand fielded F-16 Fighting Falcons and JAS 39 Gripen fighters. Australian commanders framed the evolution as a proving ground for combined tactics across the spectrum of combat airpower.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornets train alongside Royal Thai Air Force Gripens during Exercise Thai Boomerang 25 at Korat Air Base, enhancing interoperability and joint combat readiness (Picture source: Australian Department of Defence).
At the center of Australia’s contribution is the two-seat F/A-18F, a multirole strike fighter with twin F414-GE-400 engines and a combat systems suite optimized for rapid target acquisition and high sortie generation. The Super Hornet reaches Mach 1.6, carries a bring-back payload of roughly 4,082 kg and entered service with the RAAF as a Block II platform fielding an advanced active electronically scanned array radar. Australia lists standard weapons that include AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X air-to-air missiles, JDAM and Laser JDAM, AGM-154 JSOW, AGM-84 Harpoon and the M61A2 20 mm cannon, giving No. 1 Squadron flexibility to swing between air dominance, maritime strike and precision land attack during composite air operations.
Across the formation, the Royal Thai Air Force brings the JAS 39C/D Gripen, a lightweight multirole fighter built around the PS-05/A pulse-Doppler radar that offers long-range look-down and low-probability-of-intercept modes. Bangkok has standardized the IRIS-T within its fighter force and employs AIM-120 for beyond-visual-range engagements, giving Thai pilots a modern short- and medium-range air combat punch. Gripen’s modular avionics and data-link architecture make it a natural partner for complex mixed-fighter packages with Super Hornets and upgraded F-16s.
Thai Boomerang’s scenario allows training both countries’ crews in real operations. Dissimilar air combat training pits the high-thrust, heavy-payload Super Hornet against the agile Gripen and Thai F-16s to surface strengths and expose weaknesses in sensor employment, electronic protection and missile timelines. Large force employment serials stress mission planning discipline, tanker choreography and composite strikes that stitch together defensive counter-air, suppression of enemy air defenses and maritime interdiction. With No. 4 Squadron personnel embedded, Australia can rehearse joint terminal attack controller integration for close air support, while aircrews validate tactics for AMRAAM and IRIS-T employment, standoff weapons like JSOW and Harpoon, and dynamic targeting processes that hinge on shared data links.
This year’s iteration also lands amid an important modernization path for both partners. Canberra continues to upgrade the Super Hornet fleet through spiral enhancements, aligning sensors and weapons with U.S. Navy standards and extending relevance to 2040. Open reporting highlights the integration of longer-range strike missiles and electronic warfare improvements to keep pace with contested environments. For Thailand, government statements and industry confirmations indicate a program to add new-build Gripen E/F aircraft over the coming decade after Washington declined an F-35 sale in 2023, signaling a deliberate diversification of high-end air combat capabilities.
Thailand sits astride the maritime approaches that link the Malacca Strait to the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, while Australia’s defense strategy emphasizes collective deterrence with regional partners. Drills at Korat test how quickly both air forces can combine sensors, shooters and command nodes if a fast-moving crisis spills into the air domain. By exercising composite packages that can prosecute air superiority, sea denial and land attack in one cycle, Thai Boomerang signals credible combined capacity. It also strengthens a defense relationship that has been formalized since 1992 and remains central to a stable Indo-Pacific order at a time when air and maritime competition is sharpening.
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More than 500 aviators from Australia and Thailand conducted Exercise Thai Boomerang 2025 at Korat Air Base from Sept. 8–19. The drills sharpened combined air combat tactics and signaled deeper Australia–Thailand defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The Australian Department of Defence confirmed the exercise Thai Boomerang 2025, which started on 10 September 2025, with more than 500 aviators from the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Thai Air Force jointly training. The bilateral air combat drill runs through 19 September and concentrates on dissimilar air combat training, large force employment and close air support in a non-confrontational environment. Australia deployed F/A-18F Super Hornets, while Thailand fielded F-16 Fighting Falcons and JAS 39 Gripen fighters. Australian commanders framed the evolution as a proving ground for combined tactics across the spectrum of combat airpower.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornets train alongside Royal Thai Air Force Gripens during Exercise Thai Boomerang 25 at Korat Air Base, enhancing interoperability and joint combat readiness (Picture source: Australian Department of Defence).
At the center of Australia’s contribution is the two-seat F/A-18F, a multirole strike fighter with twin F414-GE-400 engines and a combat systems suite optimized for rapid target acquisition and high sortie generation. The Super Hornet reaches Mach 1.6, carries a bring-back payload of roughly 4,082 kg and entered service with the RAAF as a Block II platform fielding an advanced active electronically scanned array radar. Australia lists standard weapons that include AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X air-to-air missiles, JDAM and Laser JDAM, AGM-154 JSOW, AGM-84 Harpoon and the M61A2 20 mm cannon, giving No. 1 Squadron flexibility to swing between air dominance, maritime strike and precision land attack during composite air operations.
Across the formation, the Royal Thai Air Force brings the JAS 39C/D Gripen, a lightweight multirole fighter built around the PS-05/A pulse-Doppler radar that offers long-range look-down and low-probability-of-intercept modes. Bangkok has standardized the IRIS-T within its fighter force and employs AIM-120 for beyond-visual-range engagements, giving Thai pilots a modern short- and medium-range air combat punch. Gripen’s modular avionics and data-link architecture make it a natural partner for complex mixed-fighter packages with Super Hornets and upgraded F-16s.
Thai Boomerang’s scenario allows training both countries’ crews in real operations. Dissimilar air combat training pits the high-thrust, heavy-payload Super Hornet against the agile Gripen and Thai F-16s to surface strengths and expose weaknesses in sensor employment, electronic protection and missile timelines. Large force employment serials stress mission planning discipline, tanker choreography and composite strikes that stitch together defensive counter-air, suppression of enemy air defenses and maritime interdiction. With No. 4 Squadron personnel embedded, Australia can rehearse joint terminal attack controller integration for close air support, while aircrews validate tactics for AMRAAM and IRIS-T employment, standoff weapons like JSOW and Harpoon, and dynamic targeting processes that hinge on shared data links.
This year’s iteration also lands amid an important modernization path for both partners. Canberra continues to upgrade the Super Hornet fleet through spiral enhancements, aligning sensors and weapons with U.S. Navy standards and extending relevance to 2040. Open reporting highlights the integration of longer-range strike missiles and electronic warfare improvements to keep pace with contested environments. For Thailand, government statements and industry confirmations indicate a program to add new-build Gripen E/F aircraft over the coming decade after Washington declined an F-35 sale in 2023, signaling a deliberate diversification of high-end air combat capabilities.
Thailand sits astride the maritime approaches that link the Malacca Strait to the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, while Australia’s defense strategy emphasizes collective deterrence with regional partners. Drills at Korat test how quickly both air forces can combine sensors, shooters and command nodes if a fast-moving crisis spills into the air domain. By exercising composite packages that can prosecute air superiority, sea denial and land attack in one cycle, Thai Boomerang signals credible combined capacity. It also strengthens a defense relationship that has been formalized since 1992 and remains central to a stable Indo-Pacific order at a time when air and maritime competition is sharpening.
