PH expects delivery of Korean fighter jets in 2015

**Retz** · December 30th, 2013 10:24 AM

PH expects delivery of Korean fighter jets in 2015

MANILA, Philippines—Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Saturday said the government expected the first of the 12 Korean FA-50 lead in fighter jets to be delivered in June 2015.

Gazmin made this statement after the defense department recommended that President Benigno Aquino III allow the payment of the 52-percent down payment for the P18.9-billion fighter jets.

“We recommended the approval of the DP (down payment) and progress billing,” he said.

Earlier, Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said state agencies were only allowed by law to pay a 15-percent down payment, with the rest to be paid upon the delivery of the goods.

Anything higher than that would require the approval of the Chief Executive, Manalo said.

The Philippine government’s orders for the jets, manufactured by the government-owned Korean Aerospace Industries Inc., were among the highlights of President Aquino’s recent state visit to South Korea.

The acquisition of the FA-50s would boost the capability of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) for the country’s territorial defense.

The PAF decommissioned its F-5s, the last of the Air Force’s fighter jets, in 2005 after the government focused on internal security operations and poured most of the military’s resources on ground troops from the Philippine Army.

But the Armed Forces of the Philippines found itself having to shift to external defense as China became more aggressive in claiming territories under its so-called nine-dash-line map that includes a number of islands and shoals within the Philippines’ territory.

Stepping up the military’s modernization efforts, the Aquino administration purchased two warships, which are decommissioned US Coast Guard high-endurance cutters, for the Philippine Navy.

Source: PH expects delivery of Korean fighter jets in 2015 | Inquirer Global Nation

The twelve(12) korean fighter jets worth at least 18B. This will be part of the AFP's modernization program.

**safeorigin** · December 30th, 2013 10:48 AM

still want saab gripen NG >

**Syuryuken** · December 30th, 2013 01:05 PM

Republic of Press Release

Maniwala lang kayo pag andyan na ilang beses ng urong-sulong yang FA-50

**Monseratto** · December 30th, 2013 06:21 PM

Hinde pa finale yung deal. Baka aabutin pa ng 2020 sa bagal ng galaw... Baka ma out of production yung jet hinde pa tayo makabili.

**cpsolt** · December 30th, 2013 06:43 PM

sana nga madeliver na. btw... have you guys seen the PN agusta helos?
anliit parang sea sprite. welcome addition sa mga bo105's natin.

**Syuryuken** · December 30th, 2013 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by cpsolt

sana nga madeliver na. btw... have you guys seen the PN agusta helos?
anliit parang sea sprite. welcome addition sa mga bo105's natin.

taxi ng mga heneral yun

**Retz** · January 17th, 2014 11:52 AM

Aside from ships, DND shopping list includes planes, choppers, APCs
By ROUCHELLE R. DINGLASAN,GMA NewsJanuary 16, 2014 7:19pm

The Department of National Defense is looking to buy brand-new aircraft and armored vehicles, and refurbished helicopters on top of two warships it reportedly already plans to buy.

The Defense Department is set to buy 15 fixed-wing aircraft, 28 M113 armored personnel carriers, and 21 refurbished Huey helicopters, an official of DND who refused to be named for lack of authority told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Thursday.

DND’s seeming shopping spree of vehicles are part of its Revised Modernization Program, the source said. The program has a P85.3-billion fund that can be used within a five-year period from 2013 to 2017.

The P882-million contract for the procurement of the APCs was awarded last week, the source said.

The contract included the purchase of four infantry-fighting M113s, four armored-recovery M113s, six armored personnel carrier M113s, and 14 fire-support M113s.

The APCs, which have been used by militaries since the 1960s, are expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2015.

Meanwhile, the contracts for the refurbished helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are still in the pipeline of negotiations.

In a text message to GMA News Online, Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, Armed Forces public affairs chief, confirmed the Defense department is eyeing the purchase of two warships, worth P75 billion, for the Navy.

“That is part of our minimum credible defense stated in our modernization and capability upgrade program. The two additional frigates are already up for bidding at DND BAC (Department of Defense bids and awards committee),” he said.

An earlier report on daily Philippine Star said the Defense department is eyeing two ships from the United States under the $40-million military assistance pledge made by US Secretary of State John Kerry last December.

The country has acquired two former US Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutters—BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz—that have since been commissioned into the Philippine fleet. The Philippine Navy classifies them as Del Pilar-class frigates. — JDS, GMA News

Source: Aside from ships, DND shopping list includes planes, choppers, APCs | News | GMA News Online

Aside from ships, DND shopping list includes planes, choppers, APCs | News | GMA News Online

**Aittv** · February 7th, 2014 04:24 PM

Another world war is on the way.

**Monseratto** · February 7th, 2014 05:10 PM

Interesting read between the KFirs and the TA-50... Biggest problem of the Philippines is money...money... and the way it deals with procurement...

The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been trying to sell their Kfirs to the Philippine Air Force since the 1990s, towards the end of President Cory Aquino’s term and all throughout President Fidel Ramos’ term when the Philippines bought a lot of military equipment, but to no avail. As of this writing, President Noynoy Aquino had indicated that the procurement for the Korean Aerospace Industries’ (KAI) FA-50 Golden Eagle (or Geagle) are in its final stages,[1] hence the chances of the Kfir ending up in our inventory is now even more slim. Just out of curiousity, though, I decided to compare the Kfir to the Geagle, see how it fares on a one on one comparison.

‘Aircraft Background’
The Kfir is based on the Mirage III/5 delta-winged aircraft whose blueprints were stolen by the Mossad (as is now detailed in various spy books and articles[2]), and is described as an all-weather, Multi-Role Fighter aircraft. It first entered service in 1975 and saw extensive combat duty with the Israeli Air Force (IAF) before finally being retired by the IAF in 1996. Currently the air forces of Colombia, Equador and Sri Lanka are still operating the aircraft.[3]

All Kfirs being sold now are taken from the mothballed stocks of the IAF, but are refurbished and upgraded with advanced avionics. The latest version in the market is the “Block 60″ armed with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, the EL/M-2052. IAI is selling this new version with a 40-year manufacturer’s guarantee for the low price of only USD 20 million each, which would be cheaper than the FA-50 Golden Eagles.[4]

The FA-50 is made by the South Korea’s “Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)”, and is a smaller, license-built version of the F-16 Fighter aircraft. It is intended as a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) which can also be used as a Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT) for more advanced aircraft, and will enter South Korean Air Force service starting 2014.[5] As of this time, the Philippine Air Force is (still) negotiating for the final procurement of the FA-50 into service. At an estimated price of USD 38 million per unit for the Philippine contract, the Geagle is more expensive than the Kfir.[1]The data so far shows that the Kfir Block 60 is the more capable aircraft overall. In the end, though, the reason for not getting the Kfir may not be based on its capability and performance, but more on our ability to maintain them. Even if these aircraft are refurbished, they still will not be as durable as brand new aircraft and hence will require more replacement of parts. And therein lies the problem because our process for releasing funds for procurement tend to be VERY SLOW.

Funds need to be released on time and frequently because if not, the aircraft are grounded until they can be fixed, resulting in less units in service for the PhAF. We’ve already seen this happen to so many of our aircraft: Three dozen F-5A/B Freedom Fighters bought since 1965, and all were retired by 2005 while over a dozen air forces around the world are still keeping their F-5s in the air all the way to 2020. Another example are the 25 S-211s bought in 1989 of which now only three are in flyable condition.

The same thing will happen with these FA-50s: We will be able to use them while they are new, but after 1 or 1 1/2 decades when they start breaking down we will end up having less and less flyable aircraft in our inventory, just as it had been before, and then we will again start to look to buy brand new aircraft.

The Philippines is in a unique situation where we want brand new equipment since they are easier to maintain, and yet many such equipments are beyond our budget. We can afford second-hand, refurbished equipment, but for aircraft we cannot afford its more frequent maintenance requirements. Hence we end up making a compromise of buying brand new but less capable aircraft.

‘Parting Shot’
The Kfir Block 60 is superior to the Geagle in almost every way, whether it is maneuverability, payload, range, avionics and weapons. The Kfir’s only major deficiency is its expected shorter range due to its use of an older turbojet engine instead of a newer and more efficient turbofan engine. As for the Geagle, contrary to KAI’s claims I don’t think it can be considered as an LCA due to its deficiencies, not in this day and age, anyway.

In fact, the way things look now is that the Geagle would best serve as a Intermediate or Lead In Fighter Trainer (LIFT) FOR aircraft like the Kfir. Hence ideally, we could get the Geagle as a LIFT, and then have the Kfir Block 60 as our main combat aircraft.

However, unless our ability to release money for the procurement of items on a regular basis improves, I don’t think we will be able to afford refurbished aircraft like the Kfir in our inventory as aircraft in general need more STRINGENT maintenance requirements than most military equipment. If an aircraft fails, it won’t fly, or worse it will fly and then fail in the air, possibly causing death and destruction. But if we can get around that problem, then the Kfir would be a good, decent, and passable choice for the Philippine Air Force (PhAF) as its main Combat Aircraft.