Philippines In Talks For CH-47, Eyes KF-21 For Future Acquisition

Yulian Ardiansyah - : Aug 17, 2022 - : 5:31 pm

After canceling a PHP12.7 billion (USD227.35 million) contract for the Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters due to the risk of sanctions in June, the Philippines is looking to acquire CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the U.S., said the Philippine ambassador to the United...

To read the full article, please log in or enter your email below:

"This cancellation of this contract is precipitated mainly by the war in Ukraine. While there are sanctions expected to come our way, from the United States and western countries, obviously it is not in our interest to continue and pursue this contract," ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez as quoted from Reuters on Monday (Aug. 15).

Romualdez further added that the CH-47 Chinooks will be used by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) for troop movement and disaster mitigation in the Southeast Asian country.

The PAF previously reported still expecting the delivery of the Mi-17 helicopters in November next year despite the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict. This was partly due to past efforts to acquire CH-47 helicopters which had to be abandoned because of the lack of funding.

The Philippine government is currently trying to recover USD38 million it has paid to Russia for the Mi-17 helicopters.

On another occasion, PAF spokesperson Col. Maynard Mariano said that the service is considering the South Korean-made KF-21 jet fighter for its multi-role fighter (MRF) acquisition project.

"It is a possibility given that the MRF (project) has not been funded yet, the KF-21 can be a contender for the MRF (project)," he said as quoted from the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday (Aug. 16).

"The PAF is monitoring this, we cannot close our options when there are new systems that may be able to compete with other systems and which may fit into our requirement for defense. In this day and age, the prototyping stage for any system can be done faster due to the available technology, and we might see it fielded soon," he added.

The KF-21 is a joint South Korea - Indonesia project in which the latter is a junior partner with a 20% share of the fund. With an expected development completion in 2026, South Korea will get 120 aircraft, and Indonesia will get 50.

Philippine-air-force-paf / Mi-17 / Kf-21-boramae / Ch-47-chinook /

MORE NEWS