PHL should prioritize acquisition of more patrol planes

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 8): PHL should prioritize acquisition of more patrol planes

In order to fully secure its maritime possessions, the Philippine needs to acquire more patrol aircraft.

This was stressed by Gregory B. Poling, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Center for Strategic and International Studies, during a chance interview Tuesday.

"The number one need of the Philippines is maritime domain (awareness assets), the patrol craft are more important than combat aircraft at the moment," he added.

Poling said this is because the pressing need of Philippine military and defense officials is knowing what Chinese are doing.

"The immediate problem is not getting into air-to-air combat with the Chinese, it's knowing what the Chinese are doing. So (while) an FA-50 (a South Korean light interim jet aircraft) is not the world's best patrol craft, but the need is for the lowest dollar get the most coverage of the South China Sea then it's a fine start," he added.

The Philippines has two FA-50PHs at the moment and other 10 are scheduled to be delivered by 2016 to 2017

The FA-50PHs are capable of flying at Mach 1.5 and can be armed with air-to-air missiles for air defense missions.

It will be augmenting the SIAI-Marchetti S-211 jet trainers the Philippine Air Force is using as attack and surveillance planes.

Poling was one of the speakers in the forum titled "Asia-Pacific Perspectives on Implementing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement” held at the National Defense College of the Philippines, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=893008