Philippines to buy 2 F-18 Hornets for PAF

Illustration Mig 29 And F/A 18 Super Hornet (Photos: Super Stock)

Manila - The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is already scouting for at least two Mig-29 Fulcrum Fighter Jets or F-18 Hornets while the Philippine Navy (PN) is window shopping for state-of-the-art frigates as part of the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), an AFP official said Monday.

The Mikoyan MiG-29 (Fulcrum) is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role.

Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other nations.

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole fighter jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets (F/A for Fighter/Attack).

AFP Modernization Program Management Office head Brig. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, said PAF and PN is getting the huge chunk with Malacanang increasing AFP's annual modernization budget from P5 billion to P8 billion which includes the intensive training of foot soldiers.

Deveraturda said the acquisition is already up for the next five years priority list of the Aquino Administration. He added the procurement and bidding are also underway for the acquisition of weaponry and logistics.

He also said the military upgrade should not be viewed as preparations for a possible conflict over the disputed Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea.

“We just want to provide sovereign presence in our territories,” Deveraturda told reporters.

AFP’s priorities were fighter jets, patrol helicopters with sensors, search-and-rescue helicopters, transport aircraft, and strategic sea-lift vessels, Deveraturda said.

“We plan to acquire a brand-new Hamilton class cutter for our Coast Guard,” he said.

The Spratlys is believed to sit on vast mineral resources and claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines, China, Brunei Darrusalam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Philippine government has been vocal about its claims and protecting non-disputed areas within the EEZ based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The AFP is looking at expanding a system that started as Coast Watch South, a monitoring system for Mindanao waters.(Information : PNA)