President Benigno S. Aquino III, aided by defense chief Voltaire Gazmin (not in photo) leads the Ceremonial Distribution of Assault Rifles to the Philippine Army and Philippine Navy (PN) Marine troops at the AFP General Headquarters Canopy of the Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Thursday (August 14, 2014). Under the AFP Modernization, the acquisition of 50,629 units of Assault Rifles, 5.56mmM4 was prioritized to supplement and replace the early models of M-16 and M-16A1 assault rifles. The whole project will be delivered within the year and will be shipped in two batches. (Photo by Rey Baniquet/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang has vowed to work double time in the one year he has left to implement the 'transformation roadmap' that is the military's anchor for coping with emerging security risks in the region while hastening the modernization program.
Catapang made the vow on Thursday, as President Benigno Aquino III led the turnover of new M4 rifles at
Appointed military chief on July 18, Catapang will reach mandatory retirement age of 56 in the same month next year.
The first batch of 27,200 brand-new M4 rifles were purchased from the US-based Remington Outdoor Company. The remaining 23,329 will be fully delivered in December 2014. The AFP bought the rifles at P38,402 each, said the chief of staff.
Remington got the contract for P1.9 billion from the approved P3.1-billion allocation taken from the AFP’s Modernization Capability Upgrade Program. The AFP was able to save at least P1.2 billion, which Catapang said earlier will be used to purchase additional modern rifles.
He referred to the distribution of the M4's as "another important milestone in equipping our personnel with the right materiel and their increasing requirement of competency in safeguarding the people’s security and the nation’s territory."
From the medium term perspective, he said it "coincides with our ongoing thrust at becoming a mission capable Armed Forcs which is the 2016 benchmark in our AFP Transformation Roadmap."
The M4 rifles will replaces the outdated M16 and M16a1 rifles procured from 1974 to 1987.
Catapang noted, “The only addition of such rifles came from the United States Excess Defense Articles Program acquired during the late 1990s. The new rifle acquisition project is indeed very timely, considering the gravity of our troops responsibility. There is a need to match their skills with weaponries that suit the situation in the field, where government enemies are using modern armaments."
Remington won the bidding of the contract in October 2013 over such other competitors as Colt’s Defense, Sig Sauer and Manroy.
It submitted the lowest bid at P1.9 billion, generating savings of P1.2 billion for the Philippine government.
The project was initiated by then Army chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, who was Catapang's predecessor as chief of staff.
The assault rifle acquisition project was headed by Colonels Victor Bayani and Job Yucoco.
Designated as the Remington R4A3, the 14.5 inch barrel cal.5.56mm assault rifle with its new features such as a quad rail, pistol grip, detachable carrying handle and a 4 position butt stock, will replace the early models of the M16s being used by the AFP.
The R4A3 was subjected to a rigid pre-award test and evaluation such as dust exposure, mud and water immersion, drop safety and interchangeability tests and the ultimate endurance test of firing 6,000 rounds of ammunition. The R4A3 passed all the test parameters without a single malfunction.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/93348/afp-chief-vows-to-fast-track-transformation-roadmap
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.