AFP on Marcos’ rocket launch plan: ‘The next high ground is space’

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said that the next domain of defense is “space,” supporting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s plans to conduct a rocket launch in 2027.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said during a press briefing on Tuesday that the AFP hails initiatives to advance space capabilities, including the space launch the president mentioned during his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday. 

READ: Marcos: We are going to launch rocket into space

“Well, first, the next high ground is space. Now, the Armed Forces of the Philippines welcomes the president’s vision to advance our space capabilities,” she said when asked by reporters about the military’s role in the rocket test slated in 2027.

Marcos Jr. said during his annual address at the Batasang Pambansa complex that the space launch will be carried out in partnership with a South Korean aerospace company.

Padilla emphasized that having a space domain supports the country’s national defense, maritime security, and disaster response operations.

“(In) our operational domain that strengthens national defense, disaster response, and maritime security in general, we need to look at our various domains of operations,” she said.

She noted that projects in space are “no longer distant frontier,” as she referred to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)’s Project NOAH, or the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards, which provides warnings on extreme weather through satellite data.

“We actually have initiatives like that which we started together with the DOST. One example, which is widely used, is Project NOAH… But regarding this, our space vision–it is no longer a distant frontier,” she said. /apl