Former Philippine defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, said on Tuesday (26 July) that before his term in office ended last June, he made the decision to cancel a PHP12.7 billion (USD227 million) deal to acquire 16 Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).
As cited by the Associated Press, the decision was taken due to fear of U.S. sanctions even though it was previously approved by the former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte before he stepped down.
A Philippine military official said on the condition of anonymity that since the contract for those Mi-17 helicopters was already signed in November 2021, the cancellation will have to undergo a “termination process”. It is still unclear whether the money paid can be returned in the near future especially since the down payment has been made in January 2022.
Lorenzana has also said that the U.S. security officials have been informed of the decision to cancel the deal. He further expressed his hope that the United States could offer heavy-lift helicopters in a similar class to the Mi-17 for the PAF instead.
The Philippine Air Force has requested to procure heavy-lift helicopters for both combat and humanitarian missions since the 1990s. While the service has previously expressed interest in the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, the efforts to acquire it had to be abandoned due to the lack of funding.
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