As Indonesia wins procurement for a spy plane
September 11, 2012
The Department of National Defence has selected Italy to supply three medium-sized military transport aircraft manufactured by Alenia Aeronautica, while Indonesia was awarded the long-range maritime patrol and surveillance plane, says Peter Paul Galvez, DND spokesman.
"It is just a matter of approval now by the President" says Galvez. Once President Aquino approves the acquisition, the planes would strengthen the country’s air force and heightened navy's maritime domain awareness.
The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a medium-sized military transport STOL aircraft built by Alenia Aeronautica having the same engines and systems of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.
The C-27J was selected because of its communality with existing C-130 frames of the Philippine Air Force thereby minimizing cost for maintenance procedures, and at the same time training personnel for future C-130J acquisitions.
Meanwhile, CASA/IPTN CN-235 MPA is a medium-range twin-engined transport plane that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN, part of Airbus Military, as a regional airliner and military transport. Its primary military roles include maritime patrol, surveillance, and air transport.
CN-235 MPA was chosen because of its ability to stay in the air longer which is good for maritime surveillance and its capability to double as a military transport. Its rear ramp access made the choice easier compared to the ATR-42MP says the DND spokesman.
The CN-235 MPA can be fitted with the Seaspray 4000 radar from BAE Systems, the AN/APS-134 from Raytheon or the Ocean Master 100 from Thales. DND did not disclose what radar they will fit in the plane.
“The long-range patrol aircraft would be devoted solely to conducting maritime surveillance.” says Galvez.
The surveillance plane has a
crew of two, a pilot and co-pilot, and can carry 44 passengers and a
payload of 13,120 pounds with a cruising speed of 454 kilometers per
hour and a range of 2,730 nautical miles.
Another irresponsible and speculative post, no contract has been awarded so far as the DND has no budget at this time to purchase these aircraft ...
ReplyDeleteTrue. No contract has been awarded yet.
ReplyDeleteBut we will let this post stand.
Gazmin woes: All plans but lack funds...
Senate cancelled 10 billion for 2013 defense budget
By Sara Fabunan
Manila Standard
The Defense Department on Tuesday said a lack of funds was stopping it from procuring weapons such as warships and fighter planes from Italy, France, South Korea and the United Kingdom that would boost the Philippines’ ability to guard and defend its territory.
Interviewed after the Senate finance committee hearing on the department’s proposed budget, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the country needed fighter jets and missile-firing gunboats, but the problem was “we don’t have the funds to buy them.”
He said there were ongoing negotiations for the procurement of a warship from Italy and they were “short of signing the contract,” while the purchase of fighter jets remained “on the drawing board.”
Gazmin and the other military officials present during the budget hearing, however, did not say how much money they needed to buy such weapons and equipment.
Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate’s finance committee, said the Defense Department needed at least P75 billion in the next five years to upgrade and modernize the Armed Forces and to build a credible defense capability.
Gazmin said that, based on Drilon’s amount, his department should be able to secure an annual budget of P15 billion from the General Appropriations Act.
But Drilon said the Defense Department might face a budget-related problem since the GAA may not be able to provide in full the P75 billion to boost the Armed Forces’ defense capability.
Only P5 billion has been earmarked for the military’s modernization for 2013, while the other P10 billion is lodged under the “unprogrammed” fund item in the budget, and which could only be released if funds were available.
“If there is enough fiscal space, that can be funded, but if not, we have to look for other means to fund this equally important endeavor,” Drilon said.
“It’s principally a question of where to source these funds because the budget would have limitations on the resources of funds and our deficit level.”
Drilon said the Budget Department could get the funds from realignment of items that might not be used in 2012. He challenged the Defense Department to “think out of the box” to find out where to get the money.
“I challenge Secretary Gazmin and the rest of the AFP officials to look for funds similar to the system in the Bases Conversion Development Authority where the sales of military lands were used to fund the modernization program,” Drilon said.
“We are looking at how the excess lands in the military camps can be made more productive to fund the modernization program in order to strengthen our defense system.”
Said Gazmin: “We are really having difficulty to producing [the funds], so we are finding other means.”
He said the military still had many pieces of property that could be sold or leased, including golf courses and military camps.