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| South Korean F/A-50 (File Photo) |
By Zachary Keck
The Philippines will modernize its air force by 2016 President President Benigno S. Aquino III said on Monday, local media reported.
“Be assured that before I step down from office [in 2016], our skies will teem with new and modern equipment such as lead-in fighters, long-range patrol aircraft, close air support aircraft, light lift fixed-wing aircraft, medium lift aircraft, attack helicopters, combat utility helicopters, air defense radar and flight simulators,” Aquino said in a speech marking the 66th anniversary of the founding of the Philippines Air Force.
Noting that since taking office he has allocated US$648.44 million to modernize the armed forces, Aquino said that the passage of the New Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act last year allocated around US$1.73 billion for that purpose over the next five years. Its prior modernization of the armed forces had been passed in 1995.
The PAF will be a top priority Aquino indicated on Monday, vowing that before he leaves office in 2016 the air force will be able to “to defend our territory and make Filipinos feel more secure against foreign intruders, or those who try to shock and pressure them.”
In January the Philippines announced it would purchase 12 FA-50 fighter jets from South Korea, ending an eight year gap in which Manila did not possess any fighter jets. The Philippines retired its US-designed F-5 fighters in 2005. At the time of the announcement, the Philippine government said it had budgeted $464 million for the new jets.
Read the full story at The Diplomat