Initial intentions were to operate a mixed air group of ex-Spanish AV-8S Matador Harrier V/STOL aircraft[7] and Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopters.

[2] Although Chakri Naruebet was intended for patrols and force projection in Thai waters, a lack of funding brought on by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis meant the carrier has spent most of her career docked at the Sattahip naval base.

Chakri Naruebet has been deployed on several disaster relief operations, including in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and in response to separate flooding incidents in late-2010 and early-2011.

The original plan was to acquire a 7,800-long-ton (7,900 t) vessel from Bremer Vulcan, but the Thai government cancelled this contract on 22 July 1991.

[10] A new contract for a larger warship to be constructed at Bazán's shipyard in Ferrol, Spain was signed by the Thai and Spanish governments on 27 March 1992.

[8][9] In 2003, the RTN attempted to acquire several second-generation, ex-Royal Navy Sea Harrier FA2 aircraft from British Aerospace, but the deal did not go ahead.

[citation needed] In April 2012 Saab won a contract to upgrade Chakri Naruebet's command and control systems.

This will include fitting a 9LV Mk4 command and control system to the ship as well as a Sea Giraffe AMB radar and improved datalinks.

[11] She is assigned to the Third Naval Area Command, and her intended duties include operational support of the RTN's amphibious warfare forces, patrols and force projection around Thailand's coastline and economic exclusion zone, disaster relief and humanitarian missions and search-and-rescue (SAR) operations.

[11][9] Consequently, Chakri Naruebet was usually only operational for a single day per month for training, with the rest of the time spent alongside as a "part-time tourist attraction".

Between 4 and 7 November 1997, Chakri Naruebet participated in disaster relief operations following the passage of Tropical Storm Linda across the Gulf of Thailand and the Kra Isthmus.

[20] Chakri Naruebet was anchored at an island marina off Songkhla, and used as a base for helicopters and small boats transporting food, supplies and the wounded.

[20] In January 2003 after the burning of the Royal Thai Embassy in Cambodia, she was sent for her only "show of force" type mission to date; as an "insurance" policy for the Pochentong-1 evacuation plan.

[23] In 2021 it was reported that Chakri Naruebet usually spends only a day each month at sea, though it had recently sailed through the Singapore Strait.