New mobile radar system from Japan arrives in Philippines

Japan-made mobile air surveillance system now in display in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ newest mobile air surveillance radar system from Japan arrived Monday in another addition to the country’s detection mechanism against naval and aerial threats.

Japan’s TPS-P14ME or a mobile-type long-range air surveillance radar was brought to Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City for a turnover ceremony led by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Japan’s state minister of defense Oniki Makoto.

Adds eyes

“It adds eyes,” Teodoro said of the mobile radar in an ambush interview.

“It adds to our scope of domain awareness particularly in the aerial domain.”

READ: Japanese radar ready for delivery to PAF

Manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, the TPS-P14ME provides high-resolution surveillance of air and surface targets like aircraft, drones, and maritime vessels, according to the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

“One of the advantages of the mobile radar system is its flexibility and the capability to be deployed easily to different locations, allowing the military to quickly set up surveillance operations in remote or strategic areas,” the PAF said in a statement.

West Philippine Sea deployment?

Due to its flexibility, PAF spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo said the mobile radar may be deployed in different areas even in the West Philippine Sea.

“We can deploy it in different areas of the country where we can respond to the security requirements of our country,” Castillo said in another ambush interview.

Castillo continued: “It’s possible that we can also deploy it in areas of the West Philippine Sea given that we have a platform that can accommodate its size and weight.”

However, Teodoro, when asked if the mobile radar could be deployed in Pagasa Island, said: “I cannot confirm or deny operational plans.”

Fixed radars

Aside from the mobile radar, there is also a fixed radar system installed at Wallace Air Station in San Fernando City, La Union.

The two radars delivered are among the four units worth P5.5 billion procured by the Department of National Defense as part of the Horizon Two or second phase of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program.

Meanwhile, the two remaining fixed radar systems are expected to arrive in the country two years from now, according to Teodoro.