Marines form battalion for missile assets

The Philippine Marine Corps activates a new battalion that will operate the upcoming BrahMos cruise missiles. /PMC

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) has formed a new battalion to operate its upcoming BrahMos supersonic cruise missile systems, considered the fastest worldwide with a range of over 400 kilometers and speed ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.0.

The Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile (SBASM) Battalion of the Coastal Defense Regiment was activated on April 3, the PMC said on Thursday.

“The SBASM Battalion, the first in the PMC, will be operating one of the best antiship missile systems on the planet. It can quickly detect, track, chase and destroy targets,” it said.

The PMC is expecting to receive one coastal battery from India’s BrahMos Aerospace next year. A battery usually consists of three launchers.

The Philippines and India signed an P18.9-billion deal in January to equip the Philippine Navy with three batteries of the BrahMos.

Meanwhile, Turkey is looking to sell more attack helicopters to the Philippines, following the official turnover of the first two of six T-129 Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack (ATAK) helicopters to the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

“We have been talking about additional orders because these are very powerful and very capable helicopters … We have seen some interest from the Philippine side and we are ready to meet that interest as well,” Ismail Demir, president of Turkish Defense Industries Directorate, told reporters in an interview at the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Makati City on Wednesday.

P13.7-B transaction

The Philippines took delivery of two T-129 ATAK helicopters in early March before they were formally inducted to the PAF inventory along with an Airbus C-295 tactical transport aircraft at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, also on Wednesday.

The four other choppers will be delivered within the year, Demir said.

The P13.7-billion transaction was signed between the Department of National Defense (DND) and Turkish Aerospace Industries under a government-to-government deal in late 2020.

The T-129 ATAK helicopter was selected by the PAF for its attack helicopter acquisition program in 2018, beating other contenders that included Boeing’s AH-64E Apache and Bell’s AH-1Z Viper. But the deal was finalized only in late 2020 apparently due to the PAF and DND’s US export license concerns.

The Philippines is the first overseas user of the T-129 ATAK, a two-seat, twin-engine helicopter based on the Agusta A129 Mangusta platform and designed for attack and reconnaissance missions.

The choppers will be flown by the PAF’s 15th Strike Wing, along with Bell AH-1S Huey Cobra attack helicopters, AW-109E and MD-520MG choppers.

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