PH getting $18M in smart bombs from US, says Lorenzana

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines is getting $18 million worth of smart bombs from the United States as part of a military assistance program from Washington, according to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday (Nov. 17).

Lorenzana told reporters that the delivery to the Philippines of precision-guided munition was discussed with US Charge d’Affaires John Law at a meeting last week in Camp Aguinaldo, the Department of National Defense headquarters.

Lorenzana, however, did not elaborate on the munitions transfer.

Inquirer.net learned that the munition, manufactured by US defense contractor Raytheon, would be delivered sometime next week. It was believed to include additional kits that can be fitted in ‘legacy’ Philippine Air Force aircraft.

A precision-guided missile capability will boost the AFP’s counterterrorism campaign.

The capability is not new to the Philippines’ armed forces but is often kept under wraps. It was actually first used in the country almost a decade ago.

The bombs had been used on Islamic State followers, who tried to establish an IS caliphate in Marawi City in 2017, the Philippines’ biggest security crisis in years.

In 2012 the Associated Press reported that four Philippine security officials had confirmed the use of US satellite-guided bombs on terrorist lairs in Jolo, a known bailiwick of the homegrown terror group Abu Sayyaf.

TSB