PAMPANGA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday expressed hope that lawmakers would allot a budget for more multirole fighter aircraft that are at par with other countries.
“We hope to procure multirole fighters that would match that of our counterparts,” PAF spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo told reporters in an ambush interview here in Clark Air Base where the first iteration of military exercise dubbed as “Cope Thunder” is taking place.
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Castillo also said that the acquisition of new assets is already in the line-up of Horizon 3 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization plan.
The AFP modernization’s Horizon 3 is slated from 2023 to 2028 and will prioritize achieving a self-reliant defense posture program, bringing in more sophisticated equipment such as fighter planes and ships.
The program’s Horizon 1 stage, which was implemented from 2013 to 2017, resulted in the acquisition of Del Pilar-class frigates, FA-50PH light-lift interim fighters, among others, while Horizon 2 has been implemented since 2018 as the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte allotted P300 billion for the acquisition of multiple launch rocket systems, light tanks, armored recovery vehicles, multi-role fighter aircraft, frigates, and submarines.
“Hopefully that will happen soon of course with the support of our legislators; hopefully they will approve a budget for our modernization of our fighter aircraft,” Castillo also said.
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On Monday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri will push for the inclusion of the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) of 2024.