The Philippines is buying 32 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Poland-based Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary PZL Mielec to beef up its fleet of 12, Philippine Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana said yesterday, two days after announcing a deal to acquire anti-ship missiles from India.
Lorenzana said that a notice of award was issued on Dec. 28 for the purchase of brand-new helicopters under a project that comes with logistics support and a training package for pilots and maintenance crew at a cost of 32 billion pesos (US$624 million).
The contract was being drafted, with the delivery of the first five units expected in 2023, Lorenzana said on Facebook.
The remaining ones would be delivered in three batches: 10 units in 2024 and 2025 each, and seven units in 2026, he said.
“The lack of transport planes and helicopters have never been more acute during the [COVID-19] pandemic and in the aftermath of Typhoon [Rai],” Lorenzana said. “This was exacerbated by our aging Hueys that have become uneconomical to maintain.”
Rai, last year’s 15th and deadliest typhoon to hit the Philippines, left more than 400 people dead, and caused widespread damage in central and southern regions of the country last month.
The UN’s Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs yesterday said in a statement that hundreds of thousands of people still needed food and clean water, shelter and protection support.
Manila has also finalized a deal to acquire a shore-based anti-ship missile system from India for nearly US$375 million to beef up its navy, Lorenzana said.
The Philippines is in the late stages of a five-year, 300 billion peso project to modernize its military’s outdated hardware that includes warships from World War II and helicopters used by the US in the Vietnam War.
Under the deal negotiated with the government of India, Brahmos Aerospace Private Ltd is to deliver three batteries, train operators and maintainers, and provide logistics support, Lorenzana said on Facebook late on Friday.
It was conceptualized in 2017, but faced delays in budget allocation due to the pandemic.
The anti-ship system aims to deter foreign vessels from encroaching on the country’s 200 nautical mile (370.4km) exclusive economic zone.
In 2018, the Philippines bought Israeli-made Spike ER missiles, its first-ever ship-borne missile systems for maritime deterrence.
Despite friendlier ties between China and the Philippines under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Beijing has remained adamant in claiming large portions of the South China Sea, a conduit for goods in excess of US$3.4 trillion every year. Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam also have lodged competing claims.
However, a 2016 international arbitration ruling said the Chinese claims had no legal basis.
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