The Ministry of Defense of Oman has signed a contract with Marsun Public Company in Thailand for the construction of several landing craft.
The details of this contract are largely undisclosed, but there are speculations that Oman may order M55 Landing Craft Utility or Mattaphon-class landing craft, developed in Thailand. This information is reported by Naval News portal.
From Defense Express, we emphasize that the noteworthy aspect is the news itself that Thailand will manufacture its landing craft for export. Until now, Thailand had not been recognized as an exporter of military equipment (in this case – landing craft), while it has traditionally appeared attractive for various players in terms of arms imports.
To illustrate, we can recall the report from August 2024 about how the F-16 lost to the JAS 39 Gripen in competition, and what the current price of this aircraft is as seen in the new contract from the Royal Thai Air Force.
Regarding the Mattaphon-class or M55 landing craft, it is noteworthy that the Royal Thai Navy operates two such vessels, which were commissioned in 2010. The specifications for the M55 are as follows:
- length and width of the hull – 55 meters and 11 meters respectively;
- displacement – 550 tons;
- capacity – 145 tons of cargo, three to four tanks, or up to 250 marines.
Additionally, on social media, we can find mentions that the aforementioned Thai shipyard Marsun Public Company, established in 1980, offers several models of patrol and landing craft for export, one of which resembles a local copy of the Swedish CB90.
AAG_th Daily Record: The Royal Navy of Oman signed a contract for the construction of 4 landing ships with the shipyard #Marsun Thailandhttps://t.co/ESDf862hpu#Thailand #Navy @prroyalthainavy #RoyalNavy #HMSLaemsing Ship P.51 #SpecialForces #Oman @OMAN_MSC @OmanEmbassyBkk #Warship pic.twitter.com/BdmgfxM7KK— AAG_th (@aag_th) December 21, 2024
As for Oman, it is important to note that this country has a defense budget of approximately $6 billion with a total population of 3.3 million people.
The very fact of signing such an exotic agreement, namely the order from Oman for landing craft from Thailand, aligns with the trend where Middle Eastern countries are showing interest in acquiring vessels for supporting amphibious operations. For example, we can mention the news that Italy sold Qatar the world's smallest helicopter carrier, Al-Fulk, which can carry 16 missiles for the SAMP/T air defense system, accommodate 550 troops, and also serve as a command ship.
Previously, we reported that Thailand has the smallest aircraft carrier in the world without deck aircraft, and also about how the UAE modified the Italian tank OF-40 to fit a turret from the BMP-3, and what resulted from that.
