Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda and the army have defended the worthiness and performance of the army's controversial 340-million-baht aerial patrol project, including an airship, which has been decommissioned only after eight years in service.
The purchase of the airship was made when Gen Anupong was the army's commander in chief.
"I don't know who assessed it. If its performance was effective or not must be assessed by the army," he said, responding to media questions about the criticism that the project was not economically viable.
Gen Anupong said the airship itself cost well under 100 million baht while other systems, including cameras, are still in service and have been removed to equip helicopters.
"Personally, I would agree if there is a call for a malfeasance probe. This would ward off criticism which emerged without proper information," Gen Anupong said.
"Even though the airship was purchased when I was the army chief, the investigation needs to look at those who were involved, including receiving the vessel, making the contract and using it."
According to the former army chief, he did not have a direct role in the procurement process and the probe should target all of those involved, not only officers serving during his tenure.
He said he wants all parties to study every detail of the project to ward off misunderstandings, adding he now has no power to order the army to give an explanation about the issue.
The airship went into service in 2009, when Gen Anupong served as army chief and Gen Prawit Wongsuwon was defence minister.
Leaks were detected in the airship, and since refilling with helium is costly, the airship had mainly been kept at a hangar at the 15th Infantry Division in Pattani's Nong Chik district, until Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha became the new army commander.
The army reportedly had to spend up to 25 million baht over following years to refill the airship with helium, even though it was almost never used.
Army spokesman Winthai Suvaree said yesterday the blimp was used to enhance the effectiveness of air patrols in the insurgency-plagued South.
The airship could fly silently for a long period of time, as opposed to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), Col Winthai said.
As its body is made of tarpaulin, the service lifetime of the vessel is limited, particularly in a humid tropical climate, he said.
The total cost was divided to two parts. The first part cost 209 million baht for the aerial surveillance system.
The system consisted of the blimp itself which costs 66.8 million baht, or 19% of the total budget, two high-definition patrol cameras as well as control and signal systems, worth 87 million baht and signal systems and permanent stations worth 40 million baht.
The second part worth 131 million baht involved an aerial patrol system using helicopters.
It included three high-definition patrol cameras and three sets of control and signal transmission systems in already-commissioned choppers.
According to the spokesman, the blimp experienced some problems in the initial periods, including making an emergency landing in bad weather in 2011, causing some damage. The vessel however could be fixed and recommissioned.
Although the airship has now been decommissioned, other parts of the original projects can still be used, he said.
Meanwhile, the Pheu Thai Party has called on the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) to determine whether there were irregularities in the aircraft's procurement.
Acting Pheu Thai deputy spokesman Jirayu Huangsap said yesterday independent bodies should step in to make it clear what happened with the project.
The public should know about what happened as it involved taxpayers' money, he said. Mr Jirayu said he wanted to urge the OAG to examine the case to reveal the facts to the public, adding this would also test the capacity of the OAG, which needs to be counted on by members of the public.
The OAG needs to come up with a conclusion to the probe, he said.