Eight brand-new Bell-412EPs combat utility helicopters and
two attack versions of the AgustaWestland AW-109Es were formally turned over to
the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Monday morning.
The joint formal acceptance and blessing ceremonies took
place at Villamor Air Base, Pasay
City
PAF spokesperson Col. Enrico Canaya said the delivery and
acceptance of the eight Bell-412EPs completes the "Combat Utility
Helicopter Aircraft Acquisition Project" under the PAF modernization
amounting to Php4.8 billion negotiated with the Bell Textron Helicopter of Canada
Five of the Bell-412EPs will be assigned to the 205th
Tactical Helicopter Wing (THW) while three Bell-412EPs will be assigned to the
250th Presidential Airlift Wing with a blue-white paint scheme and configured
similar to their existing Bell-412s to be used for the transport of VIPs in the
upcoming APEC Summit.
Eventually, the three Bell-412EPs of the 250th Presidential
Airlift Wing will be transferred to 205th THW after the APEC summit.
With its four-bladed main rotor and twin-engine design and
night capability, it provides better performance and better capability for the
PAF in providing heli-lift operations for combat support and in humanitarian
assistance and disaster relief operations.
On the other hand, the two Augusta Westland AW-109Es are the
first batch to be turned over to the Air Force while six more will follow to
complete the PAF’s eight "Attack Helicopter Aircraft Acquisition
Project".
The night capable AW-109Es will be assigned to the 15th
Strike Wing and will perform the role similar to their existing MD-520MG in
conducting closed-air support, armed air reconnaissance, forward air control
and armed escort.
The AW-109Es are armed with .50 caliber machine gun pods and
rocket launchers.
It was supplied by AugustaWestland of Italy after winning a
public bidding with contract price of Php3.4 billion for the eight AW-109Es.
It is the same aircraft platform acquired by the Philippine
Navy (PN) with a slightly different equipment package.
Having similar aircraft with the PN is advantageous since it
allows commonality in operation, training and maintenance procedures, Canaya
said.
He added the PAF is still waiting for the arrival of the
remaining six AW-109Es, two C-295M medium-lift aircraft from Spain, two CN-212i
light-lift aircraft from Indonesia and two FA-50 lead-in fighter aircraft from
South Korea which are all expected before the year ends.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=793990
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