The first unit of the air-surveillance radar system ordered by the Philippines from Japan has been set up last year. (MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CO.PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines—The two remaining Japanese radar systems ordered by the Philippines are expected to arrive in the country two years from now, further bolstering the military’s surveillance capability against external threats.
The Department of National Defense ordered four air surveillance radar systems from Japan worth P5.5 billion, two of which have already arrived.
A mobile-type long-range air surveillance radar arrived this Monday, while a fixed radar system was installed at Wallace Air Station in San Fernando City, La Union, in December last year.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the arrival of the rest of the fixed radars will take that long since there needs to be preparation for the radars’ sites, and it should be ensured that there is an uninterrupted power supply.
“The delivery of the radar system is not that easy,” Teodoro said in an ambush interview after the turnover ceremony of the mobile radar.
“It’s a lot of work.”
The radars are part of the Horizon Two or second phase of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program.