Worried about Bangkok being bombed, the Royal Thai Air Force has invested heavily, aiming to destroy the Chinese-made AR-2 long-range rocket launcher! Figure 1, on July 26, 2025, local time, the Thai military publicly released footage of the Royal Thai Air Force deploying two F-16 fighter jets and two Swedish Gripen fighter jets to bomb a Cambodian military target. According to reports, this time the Royal Thai Air Force deployed two F-16 fighter jets and two Swedish Gripen fighter jets for joint bombing, targeting the Chinese-made 03-type long-range rocket launcher, the export model AR-2 long-range rocket launcher, used by the Cambodian Army. However, the footage currently does not clearly show whether the Royal Thai Air Force's F-16 fighter jets and Gripen fighter jets have destroyed the Chinese-made 03-type long-range rocket launcher, the export model AR-2 long-range rocket launcher.
Regarding this, the Thai Ministry of Defense has explicitly stated that the Royal Thai Air Force deployed two F-16 fighter jets and two Swedish Gripen fighter jets to strike the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher positions of the Cambodian Army. According to the statement from the Thai military, the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher of the Cambodian Army has a range of 130 kilometers, and on the 26th, it had already begun shelling targets within Thailand. The Thai Ministry of Defense announced that according to aerial intelligence, they have identified the location of the Cambodian army's rocket launcher launch positions.
The Royal Thai Army is urgently attacking the Chinese-made 03-type long-range rocket launcher, the export model AR-2 long-range rocket launcher, equipped by the Cambodian Army, mainly because there are rumors in Thailand that the Cambodian Army will use the Chinese-made AR-2 long-range rocket launcher to bomb the capital city of Bangkok, causing panic among the people of Thailand. This is a domestic propaganda war in Thailand, as the Chinese-made 03-type long-range rocket launcher, the export model AR-2 long-range rocket launcher, has a maximum range of only 130 kilometers. Unless the Cambodian artillery unit purchased the cruise missile head, the distance between the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, and the Cambodian territory exceeds 200 kilometers, far beyond the striking range of the Chinese-made 03-type long-range rocket launcher, the export model AR-2 long-range rocket launcher.
However, it still caused concern in Thailand, as within 72 hours, the Cambodian artillery rockets continued to fire large quantities into Thai territory, especially the 122mm rockets, which triggered controversy in Thailand. In response, the Thai military had no choice but to list the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher equipped by the Cambodian Army as the primary target for attack, even though the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher of the Cambodian Army is located deep inside Cambodia and also faces the Cambodian air defense network composed of the HQ-12 anti-aircraft missiles and the FN-6 man-portable air-defense system. The Royal Thai Air Force still dispatched two F-16 fighter jets and two Swedish Gripen fighter jets to drop South Korean-made glide-guided bombs, attempting to eliminate the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher of the Cambodian Army. According to the statement from the Thai military, one of the AR-2 long-range rocket launchers of the Cambodian Army has been destroyed, and the Cambodian Army still has five more AR-2 long-range rocket launchers. However, according to the Cambodian side, the Cambodian Army is equipped with 12 AR-2 long-range rocket launchers.
Tension between Cambodia and Thailand escalates
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838786919607296/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.