With
more focus on getting more heavy weapons and modern armored fighting vehicles,
the Philippine Army (PA) is now on its way to becoming a credible military
force capable of defending the country against internal and external threats.
This
develops as the Department of National Defense (DND) earlier this month signed
a P888 million contract with Elbit
Systems Land
Fourteen
of these units will be armed with 76mm auto-cannons while six of the
Israeli-built armored vehicles are classified as the "armored personnel
carrier" models, four as "infantry fighting vehicles and the
remaining four as "recovery and repair" units.
Once
in service, the 14 armored vehicles armed with 76mm cannon will act as the
mobile artillery units of the PA which at the moment is armed with 273 units of
heavy guns.
Having
these weapon platforms at hand ensures the capability of the Army to respond
immediately and decisively at any threats.
Last
December, the Army announced that its field units is already already equipped
with the brand 81mm Serbian-made mortars.
Around
100 of these fire support weapons were acquired as part of the ongoing military
modernization program.
Aside
from weapons, the PA also boosted its disaster response capabilities with the
planned acquisition of engineering and emergency equipment worth around P530
million.
Among
the equipment to be purchased are six units of road rollers, 30 units of dump
trucks, 14 units of excavators, eight units of road graders, and 12 units of
bulldozers.
“If
acquired, these (pieces of) equipment will be distributed and deployed in
strategic areas nationwide for faster, better and improved disaster relief
strategy,” PA spokesperson Capt. Anthony Bacus said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=609537
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