The army tested a new bunker design capable of withstanding attacks from killer drones to protect against border incursions and plans to construct it at key locations along the border.
Following ongoing clashes along the Cambodian border, the Thai army has become aware of a new type of assault weapon—the killer drone—that caused losses during previous incursions. As a result, the 2nd Army Area began developing a bunker to prevent such casualties.
Yesterday (20 Jan 2026), Maj. Gen. Jareuk Kaewphaloek, Deputy Commander of the 2nd Army Area, and his team observed a durability test of a reinforced concrete double-person bunker at the 2nd Army Area Tactical Training Center (Phu Lam Yai), Nakhon Ratchasima province. The commander of the 2nd Development Division welcomed them. The operation proceeded smoothly, testing protection against threats from killer drones, regarded as a new form of threat.
The bunker is cast-in-place with strong double-layer reinforced concrete walls and a concrete roof slab. Inside, a watermelon was placed to observe compression effects during testing.
- The first impact fell behind the bunker, successfully preventing shrapnel from harming the watermelon inside.
- The second impact hit in front of the bunker; the structure showed no damage.
- The third impact struck the center top of the bunker; the sandbags remained undamaged, the overall structure remained intact, and the watermelon was unharmed.
- The design directs explosions to occur at the bunker surface, exerting compressive force only on the sandbag layer, leaving the main structure unaffected.
- This cast-in-place bunker design effectively protects against attacks from enemy weapons.
The 2nd Army Area plans to implement this bunker construction model at critical points to defend against incursions and attacks from hostile forces.