24 November 2020
Philippines receives USD18 million worth of defence equipment from US
by Gabriel Dominguez
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) took delivery of USD18 million worth of defence equipment from the United States in a ceremony held on 23 November in Manila.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement that the equipment was officially handed over during an event attended by Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsín Jr and US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, among others.
The move was part of a commitment made by US President Donald Trump to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in April in support of Manila’s counter-terrorism efforts, it added.
On 23 November the US handed over to the Philippine military USD18 million worth of defence equipment that also included precision-guided munitions. (Philippine DFA )
The DFA said the defence items included precision-guided munitions but provided no further details. However, the state-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported that the package included 100 Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) 2A anti-armour guided missiles; 12 Improved Target Acquisition Systems (ITASs); and 24 Mark 82 bombs and associated guidance kits to convert them into smart bombs.
The PNA, which noted that the equipment was donated by Washington, quoted AFP spokesperson Marine Major General Edgard Arevalo as saying that “smart munitions with such capability and precision will aid immensely the AFP in ridding the country of terrorist menaces”.
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The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) took delivery of USD18 million worth of defence equipment ...
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