The outsize ambitions of the Royal Thai Navy are on display at a dock at the Sattahip naval base, south of Bangkok. The aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet has no aircraft and has mostly been consigned to port since the 1997 financial crisis led to a funding shortfall. The ship is sometimes used in disaster relief, transporting the royal family, and in May this year participated in anti-submarine drills alongside the U.S. Navy.
Big Number: Thailand bought it for $230 million in 1997. The Spanish-made aircraft carrier's runway is too short for any aircraft other than helicopters and Harrier planes that can take off and land vertically.
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