Air Force to buy fighter jets by 2011

[krazeyrock]

Fleet of F5s? From what i recall we only have 2 functioning F5 to retire, the other F5s acquired from the marcos regime is already retired long ago due to the lack of funds for maintenance. Naalala ko pa yung mga kuwentuhan noon na kinatatakutan tayo dahil tayo ang kauna-unahang south east asian country na may F5. Pero ngayon, we cannot even steady our claim in Sabah because malaysia has F18s. That jet can even enter our airspace and shoot down the 2 F5 we have even at long range, and oh... are our F5 even equipped with AMRAMS or even just a sidewinder missile? As what in discovery channel says, for every flying hour there is an equivalent of 4 or 5 hours of maintenance. I hope that the staff of the airforce consider this, aside from training the very few pilots they should also train a lot of mechanics.

Mas maganda nga kung ships nalang ang iinvest ng philippines for it will generate jobs in our country, the infrastructure is also in here. We are already building ships for exports in cebu as well as the korean facility in subic. Why not reonfigure that to produce frigates, missile cruisers and destroyers? And also boost our coast guard with gun boats.

[krazeyrock]

Fleet of F5s? From what i recall we only have 2 functioning F5 to retire, the other F5s acquired from the marcos regime is already retired long ago due to the lack of funds for maintenance. Naalala ko pa yung mga kuwentuhan noon na kinatatakutan tayo dahil tayo ang kauna-unahang south east asian country na may F5. Pero ngayon, we cannot even steady our claim in Sabah because malaysia has F18s. That jet can even enter our airspace and shoot down the 2 F5 we have even at long range, and oh... are our F5 even equipped with AMRAMS or even just a sidewinder missile? As what in discovery channel says, for every flying hour there is an equivalent of 4 or 5 hours of maintenance. I hope that the staff of the airforce consider this, aside from training the very few pilots they should also train a lot of mechanics.

Mas maganda nga kung ships nalang ang iinvest ng philippines for it will generate jobs in our country, the infrastructure is also in here. We are already building ships for exports in cebu as well as the korean facility in subic. Why not reonfigure that to produce frigates, missile cruisers and destroyers? And also boost our coast guard with gun boats.

[safeorigin]

we seriously need to order one of these :D

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XqwDEU0fus"]YouTube- роÑ?Ñ?иÑ? (100129-110006).avi[/ame]

[Monseratto]

we seriously need to order one of these :D

YouTube- роÑ?Ñ?иÑ? (100129-110006).avi

Looks like a ripoff of the YF-23 ATF competitor.

[edmond2009]

That plan is very very good! 2 thumbs up! im not that expert in fighter planes but, i think Philippines don't need to focus in just one specific type of plane, F35 is great but expensive, buying 3 pcs is great, and some F18 because they are multi role, and it fits to us Filipinos since we are multirole. About our pilot, there are no problem with that, Filipinos are great, they can adjust in any situation in an instant. I think an simulator will make our pilots much better, we can ask the help of the americans about that since we also help them, and i think we can ask them some aircraft since we are allies. But success cant acquire only using fighter or bombers we also need reconnaisance planes. and better having drones, but thats impossible because drones are so expensive.

I think after Philippines get what is planned we now can protect our people.

But i hope someday Philippines buy Nuclear Powered Aircraft carriers... with some destroyers and gun boats, with that i think we can guard our country on land, air surface and in waters.

[Benji_DCP]

That plan is very very good! 2 thumbs up! im not that expert in fighter planes but, i think Philippines don't need to focus in just one specific type of plane, F35 is great but expensive, buying 3 pcs is great, and some F18 because they are multi role, and it fits to us Filipinos since we are multirole. About our pilot, there are no problem with that, Filipinos are great, they can adjust in any situation in an instant. I think an simulator will make our pilots much better, we can ask the help of the americans about that since we also help them, and i think we can ask them some aircraft since we are allies. But success cant acquire only using fighter or bombers we also need reconnaisance planes. and better having drones, but thats impossible because drones are so expensive.

I think after Philippines get what is planned we now can protect our people.

But i hope someday Philippines buy Nuclear Powered Aircraft carriers... with some destroyers and gun boats, with that i think we can guard our country on land, air surface and in waters.

By the way we manage our country, this may not happen in our lifetime.

[Benji_DCP]

More good men lose in another paf plane crash... Soo tragic and ironic.

[jick.cejoco]

By the way we manage our country, this may not happen in our lifetime.

not to mention maintaining the birds, fueling the birds specially aerial refueling, securing the birds and training and constantly training and maintaining and daily keeping the birds out of the hands of possible terrorsists.

[jinggoy13]

I'd rate the F18 more than the F16... pricing should actually be similar, since the planes are of similar vintage, and our mechanics might be more familiar with the F18 if it's similar to the F5 (Both planes are Northrop-designed).

The US Navy went for the F/A 18 due to serviceability and reliability (yeah, they're the ones who insist on a twin-engine layout, for safety reasons). It's designed to be robust and extremely serviceable. Besides that, the F18 is an excellent fighter-bomber... with the ability to dogfight commendably while carrying a full bomb load. Let's see the F16 do that, eh?

An F35? Fat chance... but 48 million is a pretty good price for any kind of advanced fighter... that's only... hmmm... 2 billion pesos. Two wings of F35s... kasya sa 50 billion, with room for spares....

But I'd still rather we got a cheaper platform, so that those aircraft could cover more of the archipelago... We could buy twice as many F/A 18s for the price of those F35s, with spares, and they'd last us another 20-30 years... they're still up-to-date aircraft with a proven record in the Gulf against the sort of aircraft (modern Sukhois and MiGs) that they'd most likely encounter.

Maybe just fund one flight of F35s, about five or six, as a showcase, then spend the rest of the money on more realistic workhorses... one squadron of F18s (maybe half being secondhand, the others being brand new... but at brand-new prices, the F35 looks good...) then add more modern helicopters... Westland Lynxes for close air support in Mindanao and some heavy lifters for more menial duty.

My fear is that if they go for the best stuff available, those aircraft will end up rotting on the runways being unused. Better to have something more familiar and cheaper to operate.

i totally agree, F-18's are the logical choice , being the pilot's already familiarity with the aircraft.( besides being produced by northrop, the frame of an F-18 were a redesign F-5, other than that , the only thing that's holding us back is the price , and of course the corruption that goes with every procurement.)

[lazyfoot]

F 16 or F 18, we don't really need those kind of fighters, what we need now is a good mud mover and transport planes, in short C-130 transports and A-10 or SU-25 ground attack planes. Somehow A-1 Skyraiders seems to be a good choice too if we're really short on budget.

[lazyfoot]

Also F16 are only good for overland operations. Since it's single engine, it shouldn't be used for extended overwater operation, that is why the f 18 was made coz they need the backup of having 2 engines for overwater operations. plus the fact that we don't have runways every few km for emergency landings.

[badkuk]

right now, i think people would prefer they get more choppers. mas me silbi sa disaster relief/rescue operations.

kelan kaya tayo magkaka super cobra or blackhawk? Though in fairness those Hueys are still trucking on.

[niky]

Hahaha... sorry for the F16 smack-talk... but the issue I see with maintaining the F16 over the long haul is the fully electric operation of all the control surfaces... where the F/A 18 still has mechanical back-ups. Though both fighters have proven tough to kill in battle, I still favor the F/A 18 for deployment in a third-world country like ours.

[niky]

Harriers are too finicky, I think... hard to operate. Not saying that our pilots can't handle them, but they require a lot of training to operate, and we don't have the money for that training (simulator facilities, crashed planes, extra flying time... lots of extra flying time).

Su-30... purty... puwede na... Too bad the F-20 Tigershark never made it into active service... that was a pretty one... development of the F-5 with lots more power than the old F5 and comparable performance to the F16... developed as a "first-response" fighter. I remember their boast when they were pushing the airplane... that in the time it takes to prep an F16 and get it rolling down the runway, the F20 can be at 20,000 feet. With the maneuverability of the F5 and some parts commonality, it would have been a nice plane to get at the time, only it died in the market due to the technically superior F-16 finally being approved for sale to foreign markets... and due to the fact that it was still basically an F-5, which is old cow...

Burt Rutan Mudfighters? Hehehe... his proposal, if I remember right, was for a 2 million dollar close-support aircraft. Subsonic, jet-powered, ultra-light, rugged... too bad that never came to fruitition...

[Monseratto]

I'd rather purchase transport helos like the UH-60 or the EADS NH-70
and dedicated CAS planes like the Broncos or the A-10s than fighters. Who will you use the fighters against? Jet fighters are gas guzzlers and have little use for internal conflicts. Sadly there are no new dedicated CAS planes in the Western World. Only the SU-25 Frogfoot fits the bill.

[yebo]

there is a modern version of the F5 called the T50. http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/t-50/ it is made in south korea. although it is made to be a trainer aircraft it is dual role in that it can carry both air-to-air and surface attack weapons. eto na lang, mura malamang at hindi made in usa. why buy a plane for $60M when you will just use them for showing the flag missions lang naman. buy a cheap plane then use the change to buy respectable SAM batteries that you can position along the coast. eto mas kailangan natin, least expensive pa to maintain.

and also buy a lot of exocets for anti-ship defense.

[userfriendly]

Before buying fighters, the airforce should first invest in close air support (CAS) and airlift capability.

We need better airlift capability now. Just recently, we were devastated by typhoon Frank, if we have more C130s, then maybe relief goods and medevac can be delivered faster. IIRC, we have less than 5 C130s flying. Helicopters can also help even rescue stranded people.

We need CAS to help the army against insurgency. This is a current problem. Choppers like Cobra gunships will fill CAS duties nicely. If you really want to pound the hell out of your enemy, there is no substitue for an AC130 Specter gunship.

Why spend money on jets that may never be used. Spend our limited resources on something that we need now. Fighter jets are nice but given our current condition, its not what we need.

[Jun aka Pekto]

The Philippine Order Of Battle tells it all:

http://www.scramble.nl/ph.htm

It seems like the Philippines has an adequate number of aircraft that can be used for CAS/COIN missions. Granted, they may need upgrading. But, there seems to be a small but sufficient number of those aircraft.

Cargo aircraft are aplenty. Remember that there are large numbers of civilian cargo aircraft. Any of them can be contracted to do work for the AFP (much like the US) if needed.

The one glaring omission is a lack of front line jets. One can only speculate on why the Philippines let its air force slide to what it is now and then suddenly decide to renew its need for modern jets. I doubt it's just for show. As to the exact reasons for the change of heart, only the top officials know.

I am in a speculating mood, so here goes. I've been speculating for a while now that the main reason why the PAF had been allowed to languish is because the Philippine government thought they can count on the US defense umbrella for help. But, the US clarified its role which is to help only if the survival of the Philippines is at stake. Anything less and the Philippines is on its own. With oil discovered in Palawan, that makes certain the likelihood of more oil in the South China Sea. Everyone already knows about the Spratley Islands. If oil is found there, that will only raise the stakes higher. If it does get higher, the Philippines needs to be ready to back up its claim. With China, Vietnam, and Malaysia also vying for their piece of the pie, it can get messy. One look at their Orders of Battle and it's easy to see the Philippines doesn't stand a chance if a shooting war starts over those islands. With modern jets, at least the Philippines can provide a risk the other countries will have to consider rather than just pushing the Philippine presence aside or wiping them out with a single laser-guided bomb.

Hahaha... sorry for the F16 smack-talk... but the issue I see with maintaining the F16 over the long haul is the fully electric operation of all the control surfaces... where the F/A 18 still has mechanical back-ups. Though both fighters have proven tough to kill in battle, I still favor the F/A 18 for deployment in a third-world country like ours.

Actually, I too favor the F-18 mainly because I think two engines are better than one. But, I believe the F-16 has redundancy built-in to its fly by wire system. If the primary is damaged, there is a backup although I'm not sure how that is implemented.

Some notable customers of the F-18 are: Canada, Australia, Spain, Finland, Malaysia, Switzerland, and Kuwait.

I'm surprised to see Malaysia has F-18s. The US normally sells its planes to what it considers friendly countries. With the frequent anti-US rhetoric by the Malaysian Prime Minister, sometimes I have to wonder if he's just making noise and something else is going on behind the scenes. But then again, I think the Malaysians and the US have done joint military exercises in the past.

[vinj]

Harriers are too finicky, I think... hard to operate. .

Gov. Schwarzenegger did it pretty easily in True Lies.

[clarence27]

dapat 100 fighter jets ang mabili hanggang 2014,kailangan natin yan to fight external threat,kasi kung 2squadron lng parang langaw lng yan natitirisin ng ibang bansa lalo na ng china.pero alam ko imposible maafford ng pilipinas un.bakit hindi mag ambag lahat ng pilipino ng pera na kahit 5pesos bawat buwan.kasi para din naman sa security natin yan.kikilos lang ba tayo kapag nandyan na ang giyera?