PAF still scouting for suppliers of combat helicopters

Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Galileo Gerard Kintanar. (Photo courtesy of the Western Command)

The Philippine Air Force is in the process of looking for possible suppliers of combat utility helicopters after a scrapped deal with Canada.

Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Galileo Gerard Kintanar Jr. said Wednesday that they hope to sign a deal within the year so the delivery will start by 2019.

“We are in the final stages of procurement. We are identifying sources and we are going to talk to them one by one so the Philippines, the Air Force will get what is best for our conditions,” Kintanar told reporters on the sidelines of a security forum.

The Air Force chief cited South Korea, Italy and Russia as possible sources of combat utility helicopters.

“We sent a team there (Russia) to look at the helicopters that they have offered…It’s a normal gesture because they found out about the fate of our helicopters,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte canceled the deal with Canada last February after the latter ordered a review on the procurement of P12-billion worth of 16 Bell 412EPI helicopters, following concerns that it would be used to commit human rights on internal security operations. /jpv

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