Thailand retires last Ratcharit-class fast attack missile craft

The Ratcharit-class missile attack craft HTMS Ratcharit (FAC-321).

The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) retired its last Ratcharit-class fast attack missile craft after serving more than 41 years.

The former HTMS Ratcharit (FAC-321), the lead ship of the class, was commissioned with the RTN on 10 August 1979, and was decommissioned from service on 30 September 2021.

Two other ships of the class, the former HTMS Witthayakom (FAC-322) and HTMS Udomet (FAC-323) were retired earlier after announcement to retire the class was made in 2016.

The class were built by Singapore Technologies Marine, and were the second class of missile-capable fast attack crafts of the RTN.

The boats were armed with the MM38 Exocet anti-ship missile, with four missiles available as its primary weapon.

It also has an Oto Melara 76mm Compact naval gun, and a 40mm/70 dual-purpose gun.

The Ratcharit-class is the last missile-armed fast attack craft in the RTN, with newer models now only equipped with guns. The smallest ship in the RTN with anti-ship missiles are now the offshore patrol vessels, with the latest Krabi-class OPV armed with the RGM-84 Harpoon missile from the US.




[1] AAG_Th Thai Defence Page