UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES PLANNED

The Thailand Research Fund (TRF) and the Defence Ministry will jointly
develop unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for use in operations against drugs
and illegal aliens.

Sutheera Prasertsan, of the TRF, said the UAV research and development
programme, to be implemented between 2004-2007, will cost around 84 million
baht.

Of the total, 63 million baht will come from the TRF and the rest from the
Defence Ministry.

The planned UAVs will have an operation range of 200km. They will be
operated by a control unit which is very much like a flight simulator.

Once the control unit loses control of the UAVs, the aircraft will
automatically fly back to their base. The aircraft's flight and navigation
systems will be supported by the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Mr Sutheera said the TRF also planned to enhance the UAVs' capabilities for
use in natural resource surveys and observation operations in the future.

The air force will design and build these UAVs, while their communication
system will be developed by specialists from Technology Mahanakhon
University, which has successfully developed a micro remote-sensing satellite.