Six of the 28 upgraded M-113 armored personnel carriers are
now at the Mechanized Infantry Division (MID), Camp O'Donnell
These vehicles arrived there Wednesday after leaving its
Manila-holding area, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato said in a message
to the PNA.
The six AFVs arrived in the Philippines
"Six APCs are already at MID headquarters in Tarlac.
Other attachments and armaments will be installed in within 15 days," he added.
The six APCs will be followed by 18 other units, four of
them by July or August.
Fourteen of the M-113s were configured as fire support
vehicles, four as infantry fighting vehicles, six as armored personnel
carriers, another four as armored recovery units.
The M-113s were supplied by Israeli defense manufacturer
Elbit Systems Ltd.
The contract, which is worth Php882 million, was signed last
June 22, 2014.
Upgrades include installation of 25 mm unmanned turrets,
12.7 mm remote controlled weapon stations (RCWS) and fire control systems (FCS)
for 90 mm turrets.
The PA operates around 343 AFVs (armored fighting vehicles)
and APCs.
Around 85 percent of these AFVs are on green status (fully
mission capable) while another 10 percent are on yellow status (undergoing
repair) and five percent are on red (beyond repair)
150 of these AFVs are of United Kingdom-built GKN
"Simba" while the remainder consists of US designed V-150 and V-200
APCs, M-113s, Turkish made ACV-300s and British Scorpion CVRTs.
These vehicles give the PA its armor capability and are
organized into a 14-vehicle mechanized infantry companion for deployment with
regular units.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=781139
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