{"id":27412705,"date":"2026-10-11T16:48:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=27412705"},"modified":"2026-10-11T16:48:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:48:49","slug":"queen-suthida-gripen-solo-flight-thailand-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/queen-suthida-gripen-solo-flight-thailand-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Suthida Flies the Gripen Solo: Thailand\u2019s First Female Gripen Pilot"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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In the cockpit, alone, was Queen Suthida. She landed 41 minutes later as, in the words of the Bureau of the Royal Household, Thailand&rsquo;s first female Gripen pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">King Vajiralongkorn was waiting on the ramp with the Royal Thai Air Force commander, Air Chief Marshal Seksan Kantha. He handed her flowers and pinned a Gripen patch on her sleeve. A post now circulating on Instagram gets most of the story right, but a few details need correcting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Date:<\/strong> Thursday 8 October 2026, take-off 10:06 local time<\/li><li><strong>Base:<\/strong> Wing 7, Surat Thani (Runway 22)<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Single-seat JAS 39C Gripen, 701 Squadron<\/li><li><strong>Flight time:<\/strong> 41 minutes, solo<\/li><li><strong>Pilot:<\/strong> Queen Suthida, 48, born 3 June 1978<\/li><li><strong>Total flying:<\/strong> 1,188.48 hours before the Gripen solo, per the palace<\/li><li><strong>Gripen training:<\/strong> Classroom from June; flying at Wing 7 from 20 August; 10 h 13 min dual in the JAS 39D<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From Classroom to Solo in Four Months<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the palace, Queen Suthida&rsquo;s Gripen course began in June and July 2026 with 45 classroom and emergency-procedure subjects, followed by 20 simulator sorties, some of them at Don Mueang in Bangkok. Flying started at Wing 7 on 20 August and ran in two blocks, to 4 September and then from 25 September to the solo on 8 October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before going solo she flew 10 hours and 13 minutes with Royal Thai Air Force instructors in the two-seat JAS 39D. That matches the caption&rsquo;s &ldquo;more than 10 hours&rdquo;. The caption&rsquo;s statement that training &ldquo;began in August&rdquo; is only half right: the flying began in August, but the ground school started two months earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/royal-thai-air-force-jas-39d-gripen-two-seat-1024x575.jpg\" alt=\"Royal Thai Air Force two-seat JAS 39D Gripen\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Royal Thai Air Force two-seat JAS 39D, the version in which Queen Suthida flew her dual training sorties. Photo: Z3144228, CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aDNfWjjHQzM\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Sixteen Years of Flying<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She did not come to the fighter cold. The palace put her total at 1,188.48 hours, starting with a first flight in a Cessna T-41D on 13 May 2010. The breakdown it published runs through the T-41 (315 hours), the PC-9 turboprop trainer (106), a Piper Seneca twin (138), a Mooney M20M (98) and a CT-4E (38), and on to the Boeing 737: 27 hours on the 737-400 and 453 on the 737-800, plus 10 on the JAS 39D. As one Thai outlet noted, the published figures do not add up exactly to the total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She holds a German private licence, a commercial licence with a 737 type rating and a Thai airline transport pilot licence, and in September 2026 the Thai aviation authority renewed her 737-300 to -900 type rating. She flies as first officer on the royal 737-400 and 737-800, including flights to Paro in Bhutan and to Hanoi. The caption also says she trained on the L-39 jet trainer. The Nation reported that, but the L-39 does not appear in the palace&rsquo;s hours breakdown, and the air force retired its L-39s in 2021, so we could not confirm it.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Thailand&rsquo;s Gripens<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thailand ordered 12 Gripens in 2008, eight single-seat C models and four two-seat Ds, all with 701 Squadron at Wing 7. The first six arrived in February 2011 and the last six in 2013. One JAS 39C was lost in a crash in January 2017, leaving 11. In August 2025 Thailand signed for four more, three Gripen E and one two-seat F, for delivery by 2030. The Gripen flown on 8 October carried special tail art marking 15 years of Thai Gripen service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/royal-thai-air-force-gripen-exercise-cope-tiger-2016-1024x731.jpg\" alt=\"Royal Thai Air Force Gripen during Exercise Cope Tiger 2016\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A Royal Thai Air Force Gripen during Exercise Cope Tiger in 2016. Photo: US Air Force, Tech Sgt. Aaron Oelrich, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6udqYUDFYmo\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The First Reigning Queen to Fly a Fighter?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The caption says completing the course makes her &ldquo;the first reigning queen anywhere&rdquo; to pilot a fighter. The palace did not claim that. Its own description is narrower: Thailand&rsquo;s first female Gripen pilot. The &ldquo;first queen&rdquo; line comes from August press reports that cited unnamed sources. Strictly, Queen Suthida is a queen consort, not a queen regnant, so &ldquo;reigning&rdquo; is not the right word. We found no other queen consort who has flown a fighter solo, so &ldquo;probably the first queen to do it&rdquo; is fair; &ldquo;first anywhere&rdquo; is not something anyone has verified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flying runs in the family. King Vajiralongkorn himself has flown the air force&rsquo;s F-5 and F-16 fighters and qualified on the Boeing 737-400 in 2004. Elsewhere, Princess Salma of Jordan became Jordan&rsquo;s first female military jet pilot in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DePSTgEgItv\/\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\"background:#fff;border:0;margin:24px auto;max-width:540px;min-width:280px;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DePSTgEgItv\/\">View this post on Instagram<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sources: Bureau of the Royal Household (as reported); Thai Examiner (9 October 2026); AeroTime; The Nation; The Star (21 August 2026); Gulf News\/AFP; Sweden Herald\/TT; ASEAN Now; Wikipedia, Suthida; Bangkok Post; Saab (August 2025); Defense Industry Daily; ScandAsia; Scramble; History of Royal Women<\/em><\/p>\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Did Queen Suthida fly a Gripen solo?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. Queen Suthida of Thailand flew a single-seat JAS 39C Gripen solo for 41 minutes on 8 October 2026 from Wing 7 at Surat Thani, taking off at 10:06 local time. The Bureau of the Royal Household described her as Thailand&rsquo;s first female Gripen pilot.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How long did Queen Suthida train on the Gripen?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Queen Suthida began Gripen ground school in June 2026 with 45 classroom and emergency-procedure subjects and 20 simulator sorties. Flying at Wing 7 started on 20 August, and she flew 10 hours and 13 minutes in the two-seat JAS 39D before her solo on 8 October.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many flying hours does Queen Suthida have?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The palace put Queen Suthida&rsquo;s total at 1,188.48 flying hours, starting in a Cessna T-41D in May 2010. More than 450 of those hours are on the Boeing 737-800, on which she flies as first officer on royal flights.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is Queen Suthida the first queen to fly a fighter jet?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Possibly, but it has not been verified. The palace&rsquo;s own claim is that she is Thailand&rsquo;s first female Gripen pilot. The &ldquo;first reigning queen&rdquo; line came from press reports citing unnamed sources, and she is a queen consort rather than a reigning queen. No other queen consort is known to have flown a fighter solo.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many Gripens does Thailand have?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Thailand bought 12 JAS 39 Gripens, eight single-seat C and four two-seat D models, delivered in 2011 and 2013 to 701 Squadron at Wing 7, Surat Thani. One was lost in 2017, leaving 11. In August 2025 Thailand ordered four Gripen E\/F, three single-seat and one two-seat, for delivery by 2030.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is the King of Thailand a pilot?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. King Vajiralongkorn has flown the Royal Thai Air Force&rsquo;s F-5 and F-16 fighters and qualified on the Boeing 737-400 in 2004. He watched Queen Suthida&rsquo;s Gripen solo at Wing 7 on 8 October 2026.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did Queen Suthida fly a Gripen solo?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. Queen Suthida of Thailand flew a single-seat JAS 39C Gripen solo for 41 minutes on 8 October 2026 from Wing 7 at Surat Thani, taking off at 10:06 local time. 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He watched Queen Suthida\u2019s Gripen solo at Wing 7 on 8 October 2026.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/thai-pm-anutin-royal-thai-air-force-f-16-flight-2026\/\">Thailand&#8217;s Prime Minister Straps Into a Fighter<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/thailand-f-16-war-cambodia-2025-border-air-strikes-gripen\/\">Thailand&#8217;s F-16 War With Cambodia: The 2025 Border Air Strikes<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/falcon-strike-2026-j-10c-thai-gripen\/\">China&#8217;s J-10C Squares Off With Thai Gripens<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 8 October 2026 Queen Suthida of Thailand took a single-seat JAS 39C Gripen up alone for 41 minutes, becoming Thailand\u2019s first female Gripen pilot. How she got there, and which viral claims hold up.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27412550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27412705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Queen Suthida Flies the Gripen Solo | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thailand\u2019s Queen Suthida flew a single-seat JAS 39C Gripen solo at Wing 7 on 8 October 2026. 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