For decades, the Royal Thai Air Force's F-16s flew exercises, air shows and the occasional scramble. On 24 July 2025 they went to war. As a border dispute with Cambodia exploded into open fighting, Thai F-16s dropped guided bombs on Cambodian military positions, a rare air war between two ASEAN neighbours.

It was not a one-off. When a fragile ceasefire collapsed in December 2025, the F-16s were back over the border, joined this time by Thailand's Gripens. A year on, the bomb silhouettes painted on the jets' noses show just how busy they were.

A Border Dispute Turns Hot

The quarrel over the Thai-Cambodian border is old, and centres on ancient Khmer temples along the Dangrek mountains, such as Prasat Ta Muen Thom. It flared again on 28 May 2025, when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash. After a landmine incident on 23 July, fighting broke out along several stretches of the border on 24 July, with artillery and rockets exchanged across the line.

Thailand answered with airpower. According to The Aviationist, one F-16 from a flight of six struck a Cambodian military position that day with at least two Mk 82 500 lb bombs fitted with Lizard III laser guidance kits. Cambodia said the strikes hit civilian infrastructure and condemned them as reckless and brutal military aggression. It also claimed to have shot down an F-16, which Thailand promptly denied.

Cambodia had no combat aircraft of its own and relied on Soviet-era anti-aircraft guns and Chinese surface-to-air missiles for defence. The contest in the air was one-sided from the start.

Guided Bombs From Korea

Thai F-16s also used a weapon few outside Asia had heard of: the KGGB, a South Korean GPS-guided glide bomb kit. Thai media described it as the first combat use of the Korean kit. Footage released by the Royal Thai Air Force showed ground crews loading F-16s with Lizard-guided Mk 82s before the strikes.

After five days of fighting, both sides agreed in Putrajaya, Malaysia, to an immediate ceasefire from midnight on 28 July, brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim with pressure from the United States and participation by China. Al Jazeera reported at least 36 people killed and more than 270,000 displaced.

December: The F-16s Return, With Gripens

The truce did not last. On 8 December 2025, fighting resumed, with each side accusing the other of breaking the ceasefire. Thai F-16s were again striking Cambodian positions, including long-range artillery, according to TWZ.

This time the targets included casinos. Asia Times reported that Thai forces bombed three Cambodian border casino complexes they said were being used as military bases, including for launching drones. F-16s hit one on 8 December, and a Gripen struck the Royal Hill Resort and Casino in O'Smach on 9 December. On 10 December, a Thai navy ship shelled a third.

The second round was deadlier. A new ceasefire was signed by the two defence ministers on 27 December and took effect at noon. According to NPR, Thailand counted 26 soldiers and one civilian killed in combat, plus 44 further civilian deaths linked to the fighting, while Cambodia reported 30 civilians killed.

Times of India coverage of Thai F-16 strikes on a Cambodian command centre during the December 2025 fighting.

The Markings Tell the Story

A year later, the jets themselves are the record. Photos published by The Aviationist in September 2026 show 19 Thai F-16s wearing bomb markings: Mk 82 silhouettes, Mk 84 icons, Lizard and KGGB symbols. One F-16 of the 103rd Squadron, serial 10304, carries 16 Mk 82 markings and one KGGB. Jets of the 403rd Squadron, which fly the upgraded Mid-Life Update standard, wear them too.

For the Royal Thai Air Force, the 2025 conflict was the first real combat test of its F-16 fleet, and it showed how cheap guidance kits on old dumb bombs, from Israeli Lizards to Korean KGGBs, can turn a 1980s fighter into a precision strike platform. For Cambodia, with no air force to speak of, it was a reminder of what it means to fight a neighbour that owns the sky.

Sources: The Aviationist, TWZ, CSIS, Al Jazeera, NPR, Asia Times, Bangkok Post, The Nation Thailand