President Benigno S. Aquino III highlighted the continued modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in his fifth State-of-the-Nation (SONA) Address before a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in
In his one hour and 37 minutes speech, the President also commended the men and women of the AFP for their sterling performance in defending Zamboanga City against rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the ill-advised attack on the area in September last year.
Some of the equipment earlier acquired during the Chief Executive's term were eight W-3A "Sokol" combat utility helicopters, two
As of this posting, the Philippine government has already signed the P18-billion contract for the acquisition of 12 units of Korea Aerospace Industries F/A-50 "Fighting Eagle" which will act as the country's interim jet fighters while waiting for the proper funding and training which will allow it to procure multi-role combat aircraft.
The contract was signed last March 28.
Also signed on the same date was the P4.8-billion contract with the Canadian government for eight
Two of the F/A-50s and a pair of the
These planes will greatly boost the capabilities of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
Aside from this, the PAF is expected to commission into service eight AW-109E attack helicopters starting January 2015.
Deliveries will be completed by July 2015.
The contract for this modernization program for the PAF is worth P3.4 billion.
On the other hand, the Philippine Army (PA) is expected to take possession of 63,000 units of brand-new M-4 automatic rifles which will replace the Vietnam-era M-16 rifles in its arsenal.
Contract for this weapons is worth P2.4 billion.
Deliveries will start by August and will be completed before the end of 2014.
Meanwhile, four of the 21 refurbished UH-IH “Huey” combat utility helicopters, acquired to beef up the PAF had been delivered in late June.
Another three units are en route and expected to arrive before the end of July.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin expects the remaining 14 to arrive before the end of 2014.
Sources said these planes were acquired as the PAF’s “Huey” fleet was whittled down to just 18 helicopters, from an estimated 100, due to airframe aging and accidents.
The contract for the 21 refurbished UH-1Hs is estimated to be worth over P1 billion.
Another piece of good news for the PA is the signing of the P882 million deal for the upgraded armored personnel carrier (APC) deal which was bagged by Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit Systems Ltd. last March.
Payment will be done in three tranches.
Dr. Peter Paul Galvez, Defense spokesperson, said the first payment will be pegged at P405 million, the second at P335 million and the third at P142 million.
Elbit Systems Ltd. formally announced the signing of the P882 million deal (roughly USD 20 million) last June 22.
Upgrades include 25-millimeter unmanned turrets, 12.7-mm remote controlled weapon stations (RCWS) and fire control systems (FCS) for 90-mm turrets.
The APCs, which are 28 in number, will be supplied over a one-year period.
The contract marks a significant breakthrough for Elbit Systems, as it is the first one awarded to the company in the
"We are very pleased to be awarded our first contract for the Philippines Armed Forces, which we hope will be followed by others. Our extensive portfolio and our vast experience enable us to offer our customers advanced solutions, answering the specific requirements of various combat vehicles, and this award further positions us as world leader in the field of ground vehicle upgrades," Elbit Systems' Land and C41 general manager Udi Vered said.
The APCs are for the use of the Philippine Army.
The latter 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)
A total of 150 of these AFVs are the United Kingdom-built GKN "Simba" with the remaining AFVs consisting of the United States-designed V-150 and V-200 APCs, M-113 "Bradley," 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.
Meanwhile, the PN announced that specification of its two state-of-the-art frigates, which is worth P18.9-billion, will be out by July.
These ships will be armed with a variety of weapons capable of dealing with surface, sub-surface and air threats.
This was confirmed by Philippine Navy technical working group head Commodore Roland Mercado in a text message to the PNA.
"It (specifications) might be released by July. I'll just have to present it to the PN leadership to get their comments and approval," he said.
He declined to give the frigates' specification pending his presentation to Navy flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Jesus Millan.
Earlier, two more foreign shipbuilders have joined the Navy's P18-billion frigate program.
These firms are Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. of
They were allowed to join in the bidding after their motions for reconsideration were considered by the Department of National Defense's Special Bidding Awards Committee.
They were earlier excluded from the project due to deficiencies in documentary requirements.
These companies now join Navantia Sepi (RTR Ventures) of
Design assessments of the frigate proponents started last February. Each bidder was given five working days to present its concept.
During this period, hull, powerplant, communications, and weapon systems designs were scrutinized closely by the technical working group.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=666959
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