The aircraft carrier is the ultimate symbol of military strength.
A nation equipped with an aircraft carrier has the power to project its military might beyond its shores.
They are the flagship of a navys fleet.
Aircraft carriers are prohibitively expensive which is why very few nations have them.
Nearly half of them are operated by the US Navy, of course.
Japan and France have four each.
Egypt, Italy, and Australia have two.
Nine more carriers are currently being fitted out and two more are undergoing sea trials.
Singapore is going to get one soon, and so is Turkey.
Dozens more are being planned.
Thaliands only aircraft carrier, HTMS Chakri Naruebet, in the South China Sea in 2001.
All these nations have the means and the need for a modern carrier.
The US needs them to invade other countries.
India, China and South Korea have some bad neighbors.
Japan and France still have nightmares from the Second World War.
Britain, being an island nation, needs a powerful navy.
The exception is Thailand.
That pretty much sums up Thailands military history.
There is no reasonit appearsfor Thailand to own a modern aircraft carrier.
Yet, it does.
TheHTMS Chakri Naruebetwas procured by the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) and put into service in 1997.
But the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis threw cold water over those ambitions.
Eventually, the entire fleet was grounded.
The carrier itself was confined to the port most of the time.
Today, theChakri Naruebetsails once per month as training exercise, and occasionally ferries the Royal Family of Thailand.
Now thats a very expensive Royal Yacht.
HTMS Chakri Naruebet(top) with the United States Navy supercarrierUSS Kitty Hawk.
Notice the difference in size.
TheChakri Naruebetis the smallest functioning aircraft carrier in the world.
