Video: The Queen of Thailand Piloted a Gripen Fighter Jet on Her Own

On October 8, Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn of Thailand took the controls of a JAS 39C Gripen fighter jet for the first time. The flight took place at Wing 7 Air Base in Surat Thani Province, and King Maha Vajiralongkorn observed the training.

Before takeoff, the queen personally conducted a preflight check of the aircraft, after which she took off and completed the planned flight program. The flight and landing were successful.

Prior to this, Sutthida had been preparing to fly the fighter jet for several weeks. She trained on a flight simulator and already had over 10 hours of flight time on the two-seat version of the JAS 39D Gripen.

After landing, the king greeted his wife with a bouquet of flowers and pinned the Gripen Order Golden Patch—an honorary insignia awarded to pilots after flying a Gripen fighter jet—to her uniform.

Suthida has extensive aviation experience. Her total flight time on various types of aircraft exceeds 1,188 hours. She has flown, among other types, training aircraft, light twin-engine aircraft, and Boeing 737 passenger jets.

Previously, the queen has repeatedly flown as a co-pilot alongside the king during official flights within Thailand and abroad.

Source: Nation Thailand

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