Thai army starts D11A trials

Thailand's D11A Multi-Purpose Rocket and Missile Launcher is based on Elbit Systems' PULS. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)

Thailand's state-run Defence Technology Institute (DTI) has delivered a prototype of its D11A Multi-Purpose Rocket and Missile Launcher to the Royal Thai Army (RTA) for testing before potential manufacturing.

The D11A – local version of Elbit Systems' multicalibre Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) – was handed over to the RTA's 71st Artillery Regiment in Lopburi, central Thailand, on 9 August.

Trials of the prototype are intended to certify the platform with a view of entering a wider manufacturing phase from 2025. Production of the system will likely be conducted by the RTA's production facilities.

The new trials are expected to be expansive, building on preliminary RTA evaluations of the D11A conducted in 2022, also in Lopburi. Early trials were focused on the stability of the platform, which integrates Elbit Systems' rocket launcher on a 6×6 10-tonne Tatra truck from the Czech Republic.

Thai Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang said in a ceremony marking the start of trials that the development of the rocket system reflects the Thai government's intention to meet military requirements through domestic industry and capability.

Once operational, the modular D11A will be able to launch several guided and unguided rocket systems of different calibres, with a range of between 40 and 300 km.

These include locally developed and Chinese-origin 122 mm rockets and Israeli systems such as the 306 mm Predator Hawk, the 306 mm EXTended Range Artillery (EXTRA), and the 122 mm and 160 mm Accular surface-to-surface GPS-guided rockets.

The DTI and RTA have also been considering the integration of Elbit Systems SkyStriker autonomous loitering munition onto the D11A. In 2023 the DTI held talks with Elbit about the integration but it has not yet progressed to a formal project.