For doing his best to improve the equipment and capabilities
of the military, the Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) on Monday expressed
its thanks to President Benigno S.Aquino III.
"We thank the President for that (modernization
efforts), now the ball is in our hands so to speak, to translate those
improvements to better services," said AFP public affairs office chief Lt.
Col. Noel Detoyato.
During his sixth SONA Monday, President Aquino said that
great strides have been made in the acquisition of air assets and other
equipment for the AFP.
He made this statement after noting that the Philippine Air
Force (PAF) now has three Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" cargo planes in
its inventory compared to the one it possessed during the previous
administration.
The President also said that two more C-130s are scheduled
to arrive within the next two years to augment the existing fleet.
The Chief Executive also mentioned that the first of three
EADS CASA C-295 medium lift transport have been delivered and another two will
be commissioned before the end of the year.
He added that the PAF will also acquired two C-212 aircraft
will be also delivered.
This is on top of the 13 AgustaWestland AW-109Es delivered
to the Navy and Air Force.
Ten of the helicopters are armed and undergoing technical
inspection and assessment as of this posting along with six Bell
President Aquino stressed that the military modernization
will get more impetus once the first two South Korean F/A-50 fighter jets, out
of a 12 plane order, are delivered by December this year.
Aside from this, the Philippine Navy is now waiting the
arrival of two Australian-donated landing craft heavies which will join the
existing landing craft fleet.
Besides this, the President said the country will also
acquire two modern frigates and close-air support aircraft to augment existing
units.
Other items in the pipeline include modern rifles, and
grenade launchers.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=786765
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