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Philippines details new military procurements

By Akhil Kadidal |

Korea Aerospace Industries FA-50PH fighter aircraft (foreground) is one of the primary air defence platforms of the PAF. (USAF/Senior Airman Jessi Roth)

The Philippine government is planning to procure additional Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50PH light combat aircraft and a range of new platforms and systems in an effort to enhance its defencive posture.

In the procurement monitoring reports (PMRs) made public in January 2025, the Department of National Defense (DND) in Manila has detailed contracts awarded to acquire new utility helicopters and close air support (CAS) aircraft for the Philippine Air Force (PAF), and communications equipment for the Philippine Navy. The documents also reveal that the country is finalising the terms of reference for the acquisition of a new batch of FA-50PH aircraft.

The government-to-government deal with South Korea to acquire new FA-50PHs has an approved budget of PHP40 billion (USD683 million), according to the PMRs. The documents also show that a pre-procurement conference was held in mid-December 2024. While the PMRs did not specify the number of aircraft sought for the budgeted amount, the DND previously stated a requirement for at least 12 additional aircraft.

The PAF already operates 12 FA-50PHs that were acquired in 2014 for PHP19 billion.

Aircraft contracted

The PMRs show that the Philippines signed a PHP6.39 billion contract in December 2023 to acquire Bell 412 utility helicopters. This acquisition project comes under Horizon 2 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernisation programme, which ran from 2018 to 2022. While the PMRs do not state how many helicopters are contracted, the unit price of a single Bell 412 EPX helicopter in 2021 was USD12 million, according to JanesMarkets Forecast.

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