The Philippines is close to acquiring an unannounced number of multirole supersonic fighters from Sweden as part of the military’s modernization program, the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement over the weekend.
The DND issued the statement after a series of meetings in January to finalize the deal, which has been in the pipeline since Manila and Stockholm signed an equipment acquisition agreement at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last June.
Sweden has been offering the Saab Jas-39 Gripen, a light single-engine multirole fighter which is already in use by the Swedish, Hungarian, South African and Brazilian air forces.
The original deal supposedly involved the acquisition of 12 new Gripen fighters for P61.2 billion ($1.11 billion), but the DND did not specify whether the shopping list and its costs remained the same.
Philippine Air Force officials also looked at Saab 340 airborne early warning and control aircraft during a visit to Saab facitilies last year, but that deal is not yet on the table.
According to the DND, the implementing arrangement for the purchase of the equipment “is expected to be concluded and signed as one of the major outputs” during the inaugural Philippines-Sweden Joint Committee Meeting in Sweden in March.
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“Sweden intends to participate in the implementation of projects under Horizon 3 of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, specifically in the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft Acquisition Project of the Philippine Air Force,” the DND said.
President Marcos already approved an updated acquisition plan for the Re-Horizon 3, the last stage in the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is expected to cost about P2 trillion.
A list of equipment under the updated acquisition plan was not readily available but multirole fighters, radars, frigates, missile systems and rescue helicopters were included in the original Horizon 3.
Mr. Marcos has vowed the government’s continued support of the AFP modernization program, which he said suffered delays due to the pandemic.
He said the government needed to “catch up” with the schedule of the modernization program, particularly on acquiring equipment needed as the country’s military shifts its focus more toward “external defense.