AFP Modernization in Full Swing

[voldemort]

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Congress questions DND plans to buy fighter jets

MANILA, Philippines – Congress threatens to derail the plans of the Department of National Defense (DND) to shift its focus from fighting insurgency to defending our territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

"To me, priority should be addressing internal security. If we only address the exernal security relative to the West Philippine Sea, whatever we do we will not be able to acquire the capability to match the threat there," Muntinlupa Rep Rodolfo Biazon said in a hearing on Monday, September 2.

Biazon, who chairs the House committee on national defense and security, said the Philippines should focus on the arbitration case over the territorial dispute lodged before the United Nations.

Biazon argued the DND should rethink its plan to buy fighter aircrafts. He said the priority should be the acquisition of helicopters that government can use in, among others, disaster response.

"I would suggest you frontload the acquistion of helicopters against fighters. Otherwise, baka mahirapan kayo sa budget na 'yan. Who will you fight, China? Maski ano gawin natin diyan," Biazon added. (You will have difficulty getting that budget approved.... There's nothing we can do about that.)

Manila is caught in a row with Beijing over the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines has sought the assistance of treaty ally US on maritime security. The Philippines and US are also negotiating a new agreement focused on miltary-to-military cooperation on maritime security and maritime domain awareness.

The government is posed to buy 12 fighter aircraft from South Korea for P18 billion. The defense department is waiting for Malacañang's approval of the government-to-government contract so it can proceed with the acquisition.

The Armed Forces is fighting internal security threats from the CPP-NPA-NDF (CNN), Abu Sayyaf Group, rogue Moro National Liberation Front elements, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF).

AFP chief Gen Emmanuel Bautista has set a deadline to end insurgeny by 2016 to allow the armed forces to focus on external threats.

Biazon's proposal prompted a debate in the committee. Vice Chairman Bukidnon Rep Jose Ma Zubiri III supported Biazon's argument that internal security should be the priority. But he proposed that the DND can cut the number of fighters it plans to acquire from, say, 12 to 8.

The DND plan was defended by Magdalo Rep Francisco Ashley Acedillo, formerly with the Air Force, who challenged Biazon's arguments.

"The choice for the number of fighter craft, which is 12, was not a number plucked out of the air.... I would really like to see the Air Force acquire such figher capability," Acedillo said.

Government should acquire fighter now, Acedillo argued. "It's an urgent need that has to be funded. It cannot be at the backburner," he added.

"You cannot acquire it at a moment's notice. At the time we need it, that's when government will release funds. We can't do it like that," he said. – Rappler.com




I don't understand why Biazon is against it considering that he was once the Commander of the Marines. For a former Military officer to say "Who will you fight, China? Maski ano gawin natin diyan" is simply *****. Anyare?

[pak88]

Congress questions DND plans to buy fighter jets

MANILA, Philippines – Congress threatens to derail the plans of the Department of National Defense (DND) to shift its focus from fighting insurgency to defending our territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

"To me, priority should be addressing internal security. If we only address the exernal security relative to the West Philippine Sea, whatever we do we will not be able to acquire the capability to match the threat there," Muntinlupa Rep Rodolfo Biazon said in a hearing on Monday, September 2.

Biazon, who chairs the House committee on national defense and security, said the Philippines should focus on the arbitration case over the territorial dispute lodged before the United Nations.

Biazon argued the DND should rethink its plan to buy fighter aircrafts. He said the priority should be the acquisition of helicopters that government can use in, among others, disaster response.

"I would suggest you frontload the acquistion of helicopters against fighters. Otherwise, baka mahirapan kayo sa budget na 'yan. Who will you fight, China? Maski ano gawin natin diyan," Biazon added. (You will have difficulty getting that budget approved.... There's nothing we can do about that.)

Manila is caught in a row with Beijing over the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines has sought the assistance of treaty ally US on maritime security. The Philippines and US are also negotiating a new agreement focused on miltary-to-military cooperation on maritime security and maritime domain awareness.

The government is posed to buy 12 fighter aircraft from South Korea for P18 billion. The defense department is waiting for Malacañang's approval of the government-to-government contract so it can proceed with the acquisition.

The Armed Forces is fighting internal security threats from the CPP-NPA-NDF (CNN), Abu Sayyaf Group, rogue Moro National Liberation Front elements, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF).

AFP chief Gen Emmanuel Bautista has set a deadline to end insurgeny by 2016 to allow the armed forces to focus on external threats.

Biazon's proposal prompted a debate in the committee. Vice Chairman Bukidnon Rep Jose Ma Zubiri III supported Biazon's argument that internal security should be the priority. But he proposed that the DND can cut the number of fighters it plans to acquire from, say, 12 to 8.

The DND plan was defended by Magdalo Rep Francisco Ashley Acedillo, formerly with the Air Force, who challenged Biazon's arguments.

"The choice for the number of fighter craft, which is 12, was not a number plucked out of the air.... I would really like to see the Air Force acquire such figher capability," Acedillo said.

Government should acquire fighter now, Acedillo argued. "It's an urgent need that has to be funded. It cannot be at the backburner," he added.

"You cannot acquire it at a moment's notice. At the time we need it, that's when government will release funds. We can't do it like that," he said. – Rappler.com

I don't understand why Biazon is against it considering that he was once the Commander of the Marines. For a former Military officer to say "Who will you fight, China? Maski ano gawin natin diyan" is simply *****. Anyare?

I think Biazon is just being pragmatic. The maintenance cost of fighter jets is really high. Fuel costs alone are estimated to be P300k-P400k per flight at full tank, plus you add in the cost of armaments and maintenance. That is why even if we had an jet planes, it barely flew. Maybe we can do away with this and have attack helicopters and SAM missile systems na lang, both of which are cheaper to maintain.

[salbahis]

I don't understand why Biazon is against it considering that he was once the Commander of the Marines. For a former Military officer to say "Who will you fight, China? Maski ano gawin natin diyan" is simply *****. Anyare?

biazon's concern is more of Internal concern so it has some merits... one point also have to be considered is the operational cost... even if wala panang PDAF operational cost will drain the fund like open faucet... shelve price is different from what you spend on operation...

jets are expensive to operate... its much cheaper to operate a land/sea based ASM or SAM suported by a long range radar... its a deterrence... not offensive...

[hulagway]

i though internal concern should be handled by SAF? or PNP. (1.9 billion worth of additional budget)why cant we not accept the fact that we need to modernize our APF,? its no longer a matter of money but of politics,with the PDAF scam i dont think we are not capable of operating/buying expensive equipment.

we just don't need SAM,ASM, we need to combined them with modern ship,jets to at least stand our ground in case of hostilities.

[soundstreammsi]

though operational cost sa LIFT's/SAA/MRF will be very high, IMHO mag need pud jud ta ani along with SAM's. Mas maayo man ug integrated/layered defense diba?. At least for now if ma daun na ang pag purchase sa SK jets mas versatile kay maka patrol man sa uban lugar na di mabutangan ug SAM's.

About Mr. Biazon's comment, diba mao mani ang usa na rason pabayaan ang uban sanga sa AFP kay na focus ang attention sa Internal Conflicts? And I think the AFP has the internal OPFOR under control man. I don't think they are much of a threat kaysa katong mga mi aging panahon.

[prukutung]

i think there's sufficient budget for internal affairs,

we need em...

[pak88]

IMHO, we need more destroyers/cutters to patrol our coast than them. Cutters/patrols can be equipped by SAM systems which can deter those violating our airspace.

[7DMM]

IMHO, we need more destroyers/cutters to patrol our coast than them. Cutters/patrols can be equipped by SAM systems which can deter those violating our airspace.

coast guard ships with SAM? please do some research.

[pak88]

coast guard ships with SAM? please do some research.

I am not saying that ships with SAMs do the patrolling themselves, but a combination of cutters with guided missile boats will be an effective and deterrent.

Charles F. Adams-class destroyer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is basically the same size as the cutter last bought by the Philippine Navy and has been decommissioned as the U.S. Navy has the new and more advanced Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer. If you want to go cheaper, there are guided missile boats that were proven effective against much larger ships.

Also, Russia deploys a guided missile catamaran-style corvette, the Bora class, which is equipped with SAMs and ASMs, for coastal defense and patrol. It is even much smaller than the obsolete cutter they last bought.

[M.A.D.]

A mobile platform such as those used by Russia is good. Unfortunately US won't be happy if we buy our goods from the Ruskies.

If energy weapons such as anti-missile lasers become affordable that would be a huge boost to our coastal defense batteries, otherwise supersonic and hypersonic missiles for anti-air and anti-ship as well as anti-submarine warfare is better.

Hmm... is it allowed to use EMP against the enemy? Say an airburst warhead that has EMP and is attached to a supersonic missile? EMP is pretty cheap and easy to manufacture.

From site: The Electromagnetic Bomb - a Weapon of Electrical Mass Destruction - APA Mirror

Electromagnetic bombs are Weapons of Electrical Mass Destruction with applications across a broad spectrum of targets, spanning both the strategic and tactical. As such their use offers a very high payoff in attacking the fundamental information processing and communication facilities of a target system. The massed application of these weapons will produce substantial paralysis in any target system, thus providing a decisive advantage in the conduct of Electronic Combat, Offensive Counter Air and Strategic Air Attack.

Because E-bombs can cause hard electrical kills over larger areas than conventional explosive weapons of similar mass, they offer substantial economies in force size for a given level of inflicted damage, and are thus a potent force multiplier for appropriate target sets.

The non-lethal nature of electromagnetic weapons makes their use far less politically damaging than that of conventional munitions, and therefore broadens the range of military options available.