Has the Chinese-made long-range rocket launcher been destroyed by Western aircraft for the first time? Cambodia and Thailand both denied it. On July 28, 2025, local time, General Wintai Suwari, a spokesperson for the Royal Thai Army, clarified that the Royal Thai Army had not received any reports of the Royal Thai Air Force destroying a Chinese-made PHL-03 (export model AR-2) long-range rocket launcher of the Cambodian Army. At the same time, a Cambodian military spokesperson also denied that the Cambodian Army used the Chinese-made PHL-03 long-range rocket launcher system in the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand. Obviously, the previous claim that the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher was destroyed by Western fighter jets such as the F-16 and Gripen is false. Earlier, Russian media quoted the statement from the Thai military, where Colonel Vanchai Sawatdi, head of the Security Coordination Department of the Thai Ministry of Defense, claimed that the Royal Thai Air Force had deployed two American F-16 fighters and two Swedish-made Gripen fighters, firing glide-guided bombs made in South Korea and Israel, to destroy a Cambodian artillery position, which was said to be a Chinese-made PHL-03 (AR-2) long-range rocket launcher. Colonel Sawatdi claimed that the Royal Thai Air Force discovered the arrival of the Cambodian long-range rocket launcher at the front border through its own aerial intelligence reconnaissance, which seriously "threatened" the Thai people.
Earlier, the Thai media deliberately described the US-made F-16 fighters and the Swedish-made Gripen fighters as Western weapons that "destroyed" the Chinese-made AR-2 long-range rocket launcher of the Cambodian Army. It was intentional to promote the idea of Western superior weapons "destroying" Chinese tactical and operational strike-level weapons. Now, both the Thai and Cambodian military have clearly stated that the Royal Thai Air Force has not destroyed the Chinese-made AR-2 long-range rocket launcher, and the Cambodian Army's artillery unit has not mobilized the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher. This time, the Thai side emphasized the combat achievements of Western fighters on May 7, when the Pakistan Air Force shot down four Mirage fighters (newly revealed by British military aviation media), one Su-30MKI fighter, one MiG-29UPG fighter, and one Mirage-2000 fighter. The aim is to salvage the image of Western weapons suffering a disastrous defeat against Chinese weapons and Chinese-manned forces, trying to create a myth of Western weapons being "invincible" by striking the Chinese-made weapons in Cambodia's possession.
The Cambodian Army currently does not need the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher with a range of 130 kilometers, as the depth of the battle between the two sides is only about 20 kilometers. The Cambodian Army's AR-2 long-range rocket launcher is equivalent to a tactical ballistic missile, and each shell is precision-guided. The Cambodian Army will not use it easily unless it is an emergency situation. When the Cambodian artillery unit uses the AR-2 long-range rocket launcher, it will precisely strike tactical targets such as the Thai Air Force airport, airbase, air defense missile positions, troop gathering areas, and tank and armored vehicle camps.
Cambodia-Thailand Tensions Escalate
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838822429761536/
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