P24-B contracts for fighter jets, copters inked

GIVING FORCE TO PHILIPPINE AIR This is the kind of fighter jet—called the FA-50—the Philippines hopes to acquire from South Korea following President Aquino’s two-day visit to Seoul. This combat aircraft can carry an array of weaponry, such as air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, and precision-guided bombers, and is equipped with a night vision imaging system. PHOTO FROM WWW.KOREAAERO.COM

MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), regarded as among the most ill-equipped militaries in the region, is now beefing up its air defense  capabilities.

Amid increasing tensions with China over territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday signed two contracts worth P23.7 billion for the AFP’s purchase of lead-in trainer fighter jets from a state-owned South Korean firm and helicopters from a Canadian company.

The acquisition of 12 FA-50 multirole combat aircraft worth P18.9 billion from Korean Aerospace Inc. (KAI) was the military’s biggest procurement item under the Aquino administration.

The DND also awarded a P4.8-billion contract for the supply of eight combat-utility helicopters to the Canadian Commercial Corp.

The purchase of a squadron of FA-50 was among the Aquino administration’s critical procurement programs to build a formidable external defense system to assert the country’s claims over the disputed territories, among them the Scarborough Shoal off Zambales and some islets in the Spratly island group.

President Benigno Aquino III himself discussed the acquisition of the supersonic fighter jets with South Korean President Park Geun-hye during his state visit to Seoul in October last year.

“The signing of the contracts … provides a happy sigh of relief to the AFP, especially to the (Philippine Air Force),” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said in his speech at the signing ceremony held at Camp Aguinaldo.

“After more than four decades of stagnancy in its dream of improving its capability, our (PAF) has found a promise of new life with the realization of our AFP modernization program,” he said.

No joke anymore

“With the eventual delivery and acquisition of these new air assets, our air force can already forget the lingering naughty joke that ‘it is all air without force,’” Gazmin quipped.

He said the three-year bidding and acquisition process had  been “slow, tedious and full of challenges” but the military was definitely moving toward modernization.

AFP chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista thanked President Aquino for his full support for the military’s 15-year modernization program, saying the AFP’s external defense capability suffered in the past several decades because the government invested heavily to resolve the country’s internal conflicts.

“This is very important because we’re now able to establish a minimum credible defense,” Bautista told reporters.

Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said KAI will deliver the 12 fighter jets on a staggered basis within the agreed 38-month period, or almost a year after Mr. Aquino steps down in 2016.

Korean Ambassador Lee Hyuk, who witnessed the signing, said the purchase of the South Korean-made combat aircraft “heralds another milestone in the history of Philippine-Korean relations.”

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