INTERVIEW-Manila to buy $150 mln of military aircraft this year
13 Sep 2007 05:38:49 GMT Source: Reuters
By Manny Mogato MANILA, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The Philippines is acquiring new helicopters and trainer planes worth about 7 billion pesos ($150 million) this year to upgrade its Vietnam War-era air force, a senior general said on Thursday. The Philippines, which analysts say has one of the weakest militaries in the region, plans to spend 210 billion pesos under an 18-year modernisation programme to catch up with neighbours in Southeast Asia. Only about 2 billion pesos from the programme have been alloted to this year's purchases, Major-General Pedro Ike Inserto, the air force vice commander, told Reuters in an interview at Manila's main airbase. An additional 5 billion pesos will come from a special fund created by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he said. "The president has given us the money to acquire brand-new planes and helicopters to allow us to carry out our mission," Inserto said. "We're still keeping our old equipment. We're not quite ready to replace and phase them out because we don't have enough money for a re-fleeting programme. We're just doing a modest upgrade because we're falling behind our neighbours." Philippines' more affluent neighbours such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have in recent years placed orders for sophisticated military planes and helicopters. The military, in addition, says it needs new weapons to fight Muslim and communist rebels in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country. Currently, the Philippines has 85 Vietnam War era UH-1H Huey helicopters and 22 MG520 attack choppers, but only about half of them are in flying condition. Most of the choppers were donated by the United States as part of military aid to fight the rebels. The air force has 24 OV-10B Broncos, used as light bombers, 17 S-211 Italian-made trainer jets, 13 C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, 9 Nomad surveillance planes and four Fokker F-27 planes for moving personnel. It also has 11 SF-260 trainer aircraft and 20 T-41s, which are also trainers. Many of these are not in flying condition and are being cannibalised for spares, Inserto said. Inserto said contracts for 18 new SF-260 trainers were awarded earlier this year. The air force also plans to buy eight T-41 trainers and eight combat utility helicopters, but has not decided on which make. He said plans to acquire at least six to eight additional attack helicopters late this year were also under way. Separately, the government is close to awarding a 1.2 billion peso contract for 6 MG530F attack helicopters to Asian Aerospace Corp., a domestic partner of Boeing Co's <BA.N> McDonnell Douglas. "We're just starting with our basic requirement, we're not yet there at the level to go beyond our capability to address internal security threats," Inserto added.
