3rd C-295 plane ordered by PAF arrives at Clark Air Base
The third and last brand new C-295 transport plane ordered by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) arrived at the Clark Air Base from Spain on Friday.
Three Airbus C-295 planes worth P5.29 billion were ordered by the Philippine Air Force in a bid to boost humanitarian assistance and disaster response. The first two arrived early this year.
The C-295 planes are the first batch of brand new military transport aircraft in three decades. The last new military transport planes that the Philippines had were F-27 Fokker aircraft in the 1980s.
The third plane with tail number 142 touched down at Clark at 5:51 p.m., said Air Force spokesperson Col. Enrico Canaya. It left Seville, Spain, last Dec. 4 and made stopovers in several countries.
It was flown by pilots of Airbus Defense, the manufacturer of the C-295.
“It will still undergo technical inspection and acceptance process before it will be turnover to the Philippine Air Force,” said Canaya.
The planes will be under the 220th Airlift Wing of the Philippine Air Force.
Medium transport planes such as the C-295 are used for internal security operations in transport of troops and equipment, according to Canaya.
“The timely deployment of troops and supplies is vital to ensure the success of any military operations,” he said.
The Philippine military, one of the weakest in Asia, is building a minimum credible defense amid China’s aggressiveness in the South China Sea. Late last month, the first two of the 12 brand new fighter jets the Philippines ordered arrived from South Korea. RC
