Despite the state department approval
the notification does not indicate that
a contract has been signed or that
negotiations have concluded. the u.s state department has approved
the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets, as well as sidewinder and harpoon
missiles to the philippines in three
separate deals with a combined value of
more than 2.5 billion us dollars. The
pentagon said on thursday, the philippines is looking for a new
multi-role fighter jet and is evaluating
the F-16 and the Saab ABS Gripen and
others.
The government of the philippines has
requested to buy 10 F-16 C block 7072
aircraft and two F-16D block 7072
aircraft made by Lockheed Martin. The export of that arms package which
includes spares and training is valued
at up to 2.43 billion us dollars, the
pentagon said. Despite the state department approval
the notification does not indicate that
a contract has been signed or that
negotiations have concluded. Often during a competition the state
department will approve the export of
weapons before a winner has been named.
The pentagon's defense security
cooperation agency also notified
congress on thursday of the possible
sale of two missile packages to the
philippines. One was for twelve harpoon air launched
block two missiles, two training missiles, spares and equipment made by boeing and
valued at up to 120 million us dollarst the pentagon said. Another was for 24 aim 9x sidewinder
block 2 tactical missiles, 24 training
missiles and spare parts made by Raytheon technologies and valued at up
to 42.4 million us dollars.
The u.s state department has paved the
way for the philippines to potentially
acquire Lockheed Martin F-16 fighting
falcon multi-role fighter jets and
associated weapons as the us ally moves
toward a decision for a key component of
its military modernization program.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notification released thursday
afternoon cleared the southeast asian
nation to buy 10 F-16 c block 7072
aircraft, two two-seat F-16D block 7072 aircraft, 15 northrop grumman and slash APG-83
scalable agile beam radars, 24 raytheon aim aim-120 advanced medium
range air-to-air missiles in the C7 or C8 variant, bombs, GPS laser guidance kits, associated in support
equipment. the package is worth an
estimated 2.43 billion dollars. DSCA notifications do not serve as
guarantees that sales will happen. Once the sale is also approved by
congress the foreign customer can
negotiate on price and quantity both of
which can change.
In two other separate notifications
released around the same time dsca
cleared the philippines to buy 24
raytheon technologies aim 9x block 2
sidewinder air-to-air missiles and 12
boeing AGM-84, 11 Harpoon block 2
anti-ship missiles worth about 42.4
million dollars and 120 million dollars. Respectively the proposed sale of harpoon missiles is
also noteworthy given that the
philippines involvement with several
standoffs against china over disputed
islands in the south china sea.
The chinese coast guard and maritime
militias have previously harassed
philippine civilian vessels in the area. The block 7072 version of the F-16 being
offered to the philippines is the latest
version of the mainstay fighter of many
western or western aligned countries. The key improvement of the aircraft over
earlier versions is the in slash APG-83
active electronically scanned radar
which is also being retrofitted to the
existing F-16 fleets of several
asia-pacific users including Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.
However the F-16 will see competition
from Saab's JAS-39C/D Gripen under the philippines
multi-role fighter acquisition effort
that is part of the country's horizon 2
modernization program. The philippine air
force's current frontline combat
aircraft is the korea aerospace
industries FA 50 ph which is a light
attack jet based on the T-50 Golden Eagle
advanced trainer. In addition to the challenge posed by
china's rapid military modernization the
philippines also has to contend with a
number of insurgencies throughout the 7,000 plus islands that make up its
territory. These include battling communist
guerrillas as well as dealing with
separatist movements in its southernmost
islands.
Philippines extends u.s military deal by
another six months. The philippines will keep in place a key
military deal with the us that president Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to
terminate. Duterte is extending for another six
months the suspension of the abrogation
of the visiting forces agreement while
he studies and both sides further
address his concerns regarding
particular aspects of the agreement
foreign affairs secretary teodoro watson
said in a video.
Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana
issued a statement in support of the
move adding the additional review period
would help Duterte arrive at an informed
decision on the matter. Our bilateral cooperation with the us is
geared towards upholding our national
interest and to the extent necessary to
enhance the philippines defense
capability, he said.
The philippines in february 2020
notified the us that it would terminate
the pact which has governed military
cooperation between the two countries
since 1998. it's key to implementing a mutual
defense treaty signed in 1951
shortly after the philippines achieved
independence from the us. Duterte also extended the state order in
november. politicians in the philippines have
already started maneuvering ahead of a
presidential election next year in which
policy toward the u s and china is
expected to remain a key issue.
In the future of the Philippines, this is a moment that we should wait for the continuation to find out how the political stability of the Philippines will go hand in hand with the new presidential election next year. Politicians' maneuvers will be a hot topic in various media. What do you think it will be?
