Aircraft manufacturer AgustaWestland is now undergoing
post-qualification checks after being selected as the sole proponent of the
Department of National Defense (DND)'s PHP5.4 billion anti-submarine warfare
(ASW) helicopter project.
DND Undersecretary for Finance, Munitions and Modernization
Fernando Manalo disclosed the information in a text message to the Philippines
News Agency.
Post-qualification refers to the background check to
determine the capability of the manufacturer to deliver the equipment on time
and comply with the specifications requested by the contracting party.
Manalo did not give the exact time frame for the
post-qualification checks but said that it is now ongoing.
AgustaWestland was selected by the DND as the possible
supplier of its two ASW helicopters late in 2015.
Manalo said AgustaWestland offered the Philippines
The AW-159 (previously called the Future Lynx and Lynx
Wildcat) is an improved version of the Westland Super Lynx military helicopter.
It is ordered for the British Army and the United Kingdom
It has a crew of two, has a maximum speed of 291 km/h (181
mph), range of 777 km (483 miles), ferry range of 963 km (598 miles) and an
endurance of one and a-half hours (fours hours and 30 minutes if fitted with
auxiliary fuel)
The AW-159 is fitted with forward firing CRV7 rockets and
machine guns, pintle mounted machine gun, Sea Skua missiles and Sting-Ray
torpedoes and depth charges.
The ASW helicopter project is one of the seven military
modernization projects which President Benigno S. Aquino III has given DND the
green-light to go into a "multi-year contract" last November.
Projects placed under the "multi-year contract"
include the two missile-armed frigates, eight amphibious assault vehicles, two
long-range patrol aircraft, six close-air support aircraft, munition for the
brand-new FA-50PH jet fighters and surveillance radars.
Manalo earlier said payment from the seven projects will run
from 2015 to 2018.
Granting of the "multi-year contract" will allow
to pursue the military modernization program beyond Aquino's term, he added.
The total value of the seven projects is about PHP44 billion.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=845085
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