Information that has provided in the said budget hearings are a mouthful that it does not simply get accomplished in a single writeup, but several highlights deserves to provide a full context on the vision that the Department of National Defense lies on its long-term capability improvement, especially on the ones set for the Philippine military. One of those visions delves into the most discussed acquisition project of the Philippine Armed Forces to date, which is the Philippine Air Force's plans of securing the purchase for its multirole fighter jets.
THE BUDGET HEARING
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| The Department of National Defense aims to get a full package for the Philippine Air Force's Multirole Fighter Jet Acquisition. Sources of Images from Efrain Noel Morota (upper left), SAAB (upper right), Wikimedia Commons (lower left), German Air Force (lower right) |
The multiple budget hearings that the Department of National Defense has before both chambers of Congress - in the House of Representatives and the Senate - presented an insight into how the department will set its direction in the upcoming years.
One of the interesting tidbits from this is their proposal to repeal Republic Act 10349, or the Revised AFP Modernization Law, and instead have its acquisition project funding done through a project-based scheme. The proposal to repeal deserves its own set of discussion.
At that specific budget hearing done together with the Senate Committee on Defense, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr highlighted the concerns relating to its current budgetary position, casting doubts that the fiscal room provided is small for the department to push for other projects under the Revised AFP Modernization Program, highlighting primarily to the purchase of the Multi-Role Fighter Jets of the Philippine Air Force, together with its associated packages.
When asked about how much money the Department of National Defense needs in buying the fighter jets for the Philippine Air Force, Secretary Teodoro highlighted that the project requires a budget of around Php 400 billion, even more if included other components that form part of the ‘multirole fighter jet package proposal’ of the department.
The said components refer to what the defense department wants to include in the project - the Midair Refueling Tankers and Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS.
After the budget requirements got presented, the next question delved into the number of squadrons that the Department of National Defense seeks in providing for the Philippine Air Force’s multirole fighter requirement, in which the defense secretary in return said that the budget is for the purchase of at least three (3) squadrons of the multi-role fighter jets of the Philippine Air Force. For context, a single squadron comes with twelve (12) fighter jets, with a full three (3) fighter jet squadron being at thirty-six (36) units.
The rationale of this bold and expensive undertaking of the Department of National Defense’s presentation for the multirole fighter jet package delves primarily to the long-term vision it entails, or what the Secretary of National Defense believes as a real force boost for the Philippine Air Force, rather than relying on a single squadron of the same multirole fighter jets, labeling them as a ‘token purchase’ that does not present real impact to the country’s territorial defense deterrence efforts.
Revisiting it again, the Philippine Air Force’s multirole fighter jet acquisition project is an active, ongoing acquisition project that is getting competition with the following aerospace companies that aims to secure the bid of getting the contract - US-based aerospace company Lockheed Martin and the F-16 Viper Block 70/72 variant, Sweden’s SAAB and the JAS-39 Gripen Block E/F variant, and the newest entrant being the Leonardo Eurofighter 2000 Typhoon Tranche 5.
This discussion will not cover much about the multirole fighter jet candidates for this deal, and instead will cover more on the following key features, which is on the number of squadrons that the Department of National Defense aims to get in this arrangement, the inclusion made for both the Airborne Warning and Control System and Midair Refueling Tankers, the financing schemes and perks that aerospace companies offer, and the advantages and disadvantages this proposal entail to the deal in its entirety.
NUMBER OF SQUADRONS
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| The number of multirole fighter jets alone plays a role in an effective air defense deterrence. From AIIRSOURCE Channel, YouTube. |
The first contention in the budget hearing discussion between the Senate committee for defense and the Department of National Defense regarding the acquisition of Multi-role Fighter Jets for the Philippine Air Force is with the number of fighter squadrons that the said department aims to get in a single transaction. What followed is a clear and concise statement from the Secretary of National Defense, fully specifying that they aim to get at least three (3) fighter squadrons at one go.
The number specified is the clearest one ever provided from the Department of National Defense, and is also the most recent one that define the multirole fighter jet package proposal that they aim to get, with the support of the Congress, together with the Department of Finance and the Department of Budget and Management in coming up either with a creative financing scheme, or an increased budgetary allotment to make this highest valued military purchase to date possible.
For context, a squadron of fighter jets within the Philippine Air Force stands at around twelve (12) units, as this is at best exhibited with how the Fifth Fighter Wing organizes the batch sales of the Korean-made FA-50s that it made through the years.
First in 2015 and then in 2025, the air service branch of the Philippine Armed Forces always has its eyes fixated into securing at least twelve (12) units of fighter jet per batch, as it comes clearly given with the orders made for the FA-50 Lead-In Fighter Trainers.
Carrying it over to the multi-role fighter jet package proposal, and the picture comes clear that the Department of National Defense aims to get at least thirty-six (36) multirole fighters or three (3) squadrons of twelve (12) each per squadron of multirole fighters, or forty (40) multirole fighters if we based from their previous statements regarding the project. The numbers provided provide an ideal setup, where there are at least thirty-six (36) single-seater multirole fighter jets and four (4) dual-seater conversion trainer jets.
Of course, having such a large number for an order of multirole fighter jets that counts as the most unprecedented one in the country’s defense history also comes with a heavy price tag, one that cast doubt whether the deal might push through as the history of budgetary allotments released for the Department of National Defense or the Revised AFP Modernization Program can only fund military projects at an extent, that the numbers presented only come as ‘piecemeal’ at best.
To be fair with the people in the Department of National Defense, getting this project funded in one go, either through an overhauled legislation on foreign borrowings or by a boosted annual defense budget, gives a significant boost worth counting as a great leap for the modernization efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, rather than relying on ‘token’ accomplishments that is to get a squadron of multirole fighter jets and call it a day, with the Philippine Air Force getting the minimum number.
As the thirty-six (36) multirole fighter jets isn’t enough for a package proposal pushed by the Department of National Defense, the next part of the discussion will also include other crucial parts of what count as a comprehensive air defense solution, where networked nodes with up-to-date shared critical information gives added capabilities for the proposed fighter jets, one that clearly means giving additional eye in the sky that can detect threats coming from afar.
AIRBORNE WARNING AND CONTROL SYSTEM (AWACS)
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| SAAB has the Erieye AWACS as part of its offer for the JAS-39 Gripen E/F variant of the Philippine Air Force. Image Source. |
The package for multirole fighter jets, as what the Department of National Defense is proposing, does not limit to just the number of fighter jets alone but also includes other military assets that give more eyes in the sky, an integrated networked system that coordinates updated movements of the air force belonging to the foreign adversary in the patch of an airspace that count as the current area of operations at the time that a mission gets carried out.
That ‘added eyes in the sky’ component refers to having the Airborne Warning and Control System or ‘AWACS’ included in the package, one that comes with advanced radar and other related sensors onboard that can detect upcoming threats, whether it might be an enemy fighter aircraft or an upcoming missile that might pose a threat against critical facilities that the Philippines have scattered across the country, passing through and entering inside the Philippine airspace.
Being the one that has a full vision of the airspace domain, the Airborne Warning and Control System is also the one responsible to coordinate multirole fighter jet pilots as a command-and-control component into conducting operations that involves targeting both ground and aerial targets at a long distance given its deployment.
This extra capability adds up to the force package presented by the Department of National Defense as a necessary part of the Philippine Air Force’s multirole fighter jet purchase.
As the idea of including AWACS to the force package of the Philippine Air Force comes into mind, so does the number of candidates that might likely end up in the Philippine Air Force’s inventory, depending on which of the candidates for the project will come up as the winner to the project. As for SAAB, there is a likelihood that they will offer the SAAB Erieye multi-domain AWACS that will come alongside the JAS-39 Gripen E/F offer, itself likely to use the SAAB 340 aircraft as its primary platform of choice.
SAAB’s own AWACS solution that itself produces comes as an advantage compared to its competitors in the Philippine Air Force’s multirole fighter jet acquisition program, as other aerospace companies like Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) does not have its own produced AWACS platform at the time this article publishes. For Lockheed Martin, while it produces the ‘AN/APY-9 radar’ for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye AWACS aircraft, the AWACS product itself is actually from Northrop Grumman.
For Korea Aerospace Industries, it currently does not have its own AWACS product at the time this article has published, although a combination of AWACS from other suppliers might come together with its KF-21 Boramae deal with the Philippine Air Force shall things be pushed through. One thing that comes to mind is once again SAAB’s GlobalEye AWACS offer, as there is a memorandum of understanding between SAAB and KAI regarding this arrangement.
With the AWACS platform included in the Multirole Fighter Jet package that the Department of National Defense wanted for the Philippine Air Force to have as part of an integrated systems-based air defense suite, the variation of solutions depends on the preferable candidate for the project, with SAAB clearly in the advantage of providing this type of platform as an integrated package, as they are the only one among aerospace companies taking part that can produce its own AWACS aircraft.
MULTI-ROLE TANKER TRANSPORT (MRTT)
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| Depending on the package, AWACs like the Airbus A330 MRTT have the chance to be on the Philippine Air Force's inventory of support aircraft. This is a U.S. Air Force photo by Christian Turner, Wikimedia Commons |
The next component that the Department of National Defense presents as part of the multirole fighter jet acquisition program package of support system is the one that ensures that each fighter aircraft gets extended operational support all throughout the mission operations, and even beyond the capability of each unit’s onboard fuel tanks which means extended operational time and range as required in a solidified air operations. Entering the scene is an aerial refueling aircraft.
Also known as a multirole tanker transport aircraft or just simply a tanker aircraft, this unit plays a key role in extended air operations of a multirole fighter jet, as its purpose is to replenish operating aircraft with jet fuel through a rigid boom system or a flexible probe-and-drogue system, depending on the aircraft that come with either of the said two (2) mid-air refueling configuration. Notable examples of such aircraft are the Airbus A330 MRTT (Multirole Tanker Transport) and Boeing KC-46 Pegasus.
This is where Lockheed Martin and Eurofighter (via Airbus) have an advantage in offering an aerial refueling aircraft as part of the multirole fighter jet package, whereby the former already has the tanker variant of the C-130 aircraft known as the KC-130J, in use by the likes of the United States Marine Corps for their aircraft operations.
The only concern with this offer is that the KC-130J comes with a flexible probe-and-drogue system, while the F-16 Viper it offers has a mid-air refueling design with a rigid boom system in mind.
The incompatibility between the KC-130J aerial refueling tanker aircraft and F-16 Viper fighter jets in terms of the mid-air refueling systems incorporated onboard can get mitigated with the F-16s coming with receptacles that enable the aircraft to have mid-air refueling capabilities compatible with the KC-130J aircraft, enabling Lockheed Martin to offer both the KC-130J and the F-16 Viper as part of its own multirole fighter jet package that the Department of National Defense seeks on.
Another competing entity is the Eurofighter consortium, where Airbus is a member itself, although the Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 5 multirole fighter offer for the Philippine Air Force goes through another aerospace company, which is through the Italian-based firm named Leonardo.
With the Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 5 coming as a product of the consortium that Leonardo and Airbus are both members of, inserting the Airbus A330 MRTT in the offer makes sense for its own MRF package offer.
Airbus and its A330 MRTT come with a rigid boom system that is more compatible with the F-16 Block 70/72 Viper offer of Lockheed Martin, as compared to the KC-130J tanker aircraft that comes with the flexible hose and drogue system.
It is also compatible with the KF-21 Boramae that Korea Aerospace Industries or KAI offered to the Philippine Air Force, as the Republic of Korea Air Force also operates the passenger jet-inspired Airbus aircraft for its own operational requirements.
With both the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and aerial refuel tankers included in the multirole fighter jet package, along with the Department of National Defense’s aim into getting at least three (3) squadrons of fighter jets in one go, the next part of the discussion will involve one of the largest hurdles that they will face amidst the plans into modernizing the capabilities of the Philippine Air Force in one go, one that involves the availability of budget and similar financial schemes.
CREATIVE FINANCING SCHEME
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| The Honorable Secretary of National Defense's statement on the creative financing scheme as proposed before the country's private sector. From the Department of National Defense Facebook Page. |
To resolve the problem that surrounds the financial hurdles that will help support the Philippine Air Force and the Department of National Defense’ comprehensive multirole fighter jet package, they are pushing on an amendment in legislation that would enable them to secure soft loan and similarly crafted financial arrangement from foreign governments and institutions, basically enabling them to secure the purchase of the entire deal as presented by different aerospace candidates in the project.
One idea that comes from this hurdle is the proposed enactment of the Department of National Defense transformation bill, which aims to have a provision that points on the defense spending of the entire department, including those for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to have an allotment increase until it reaches at least 2% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP as a measuring stick for its annual budget, with an additional provision that there will be adjustments in every ten (10) years.
With the proposed enactment of the Department of National Defense transformation bill is the call to repeal the Revised AFP Modernization Law or the Republic Act 10349, on which the Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said that the law has ‘outlived’ its purpose in supporting the capability improvement projects of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The said law, while providing sufficient support in improving the capabilities of the AFP, said that its efforts come ‘insufficient’ as technology paces on.
Aside from the Department of National Defense Transformation bill, another piece of legislation that is also being looked at is on the revisions in the Presidential Decree No. 415, known as the ‘Authorizing the Secretary of National Defense to Enter Into Defense Contracts to Implement Projects Under the Self-Reliance Defense Programs and For Other Purposes’. This legislation has a provision that limits the amount allowable for the Philippine government to avail the soft loans and similar arrangements for defense.
Under the said presidential decree, the limiting factor lies in Section 3, clearly detailing that the Secretary of National Defense can only undertake soft loans, supplier’s credit, and other arrangements relating to the purchase of expensive military hardware under this financial scheme type at the limit of around Three Hundred Million United States Dollars or US$ 300,000,000.00 or Php 17.4 Billion if based on the January 1, 2026 exchange rate of US$1.00 - Php 58.00.
This means that the Philippine military cannot go beyond the said amount into taking a soft loan or similar financial arrangement without undertaking amendments of the said Presidential Decree, which also means that the efforts undertaking for the Revised AFP Modernization Program is always at the mercy of the yearly enactment of the General Appropriations Act and its allotments to the Revised AFP Modernization Program. Such a scheme is insufficient given its annual record of limited budget allotments.
Its approval is crucial in the ongoing modernization efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as the said Presidential Decree comes as a limiting factor for the Department of National Defense in getting multi-billion soft loan arrangements that can secure needed military hardware like the multi-role fighter jets and submarines. Lacking the support for this proposal will hamper the efforts to improve the Philippine military’s capability to provide the needed deterrence for its territorial-level defense posture.
ENDING NOTE
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| Italian arms supplier Leonardo actively markets the Eurofighter Typhoon 2000 to the Philippine Air Force. Image Source. |
At the time this article publishes, the 2026 General Appropriations Act introduces a special provision for the Revised AFP Modernization Program, enabling the Secretary of National Defense to undertake soft loan arrangement and similar schemes when buying expensive military hardware, which means this topic relating to multirole fighter jet packages that the Philippine Air Force and the Department of National Defense aspires to get is now slowly getting its way into reality.
It also means that the government might give a way to secure loans well beyond the limits provided under the Presidential Decree 415, while being compliant to the said decree by having the loans approved by both the Office of the President and the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP.
That will give all the needed support that the Department of National Defense needs in securing not only the aforementioned MRF package but also other equally expensive ones such as the Philippine Navy submarines.
This also correlates to the Philippine Air Force’s expanded interest on the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet produced by Korea Aerospace Industries, as it has the potential to have an expanded capability for a full-fledged multirole fighter jet, as its technological path includes integration of such capability under the Block II phase of the program.
Currently, the KF-21 Boramae’s capability is limited to the air superiority role entailed from its original Block I phase of the entire development of Korea’s own indigenous stealth fighter.
The delivery dates that the Philippine Air Force seeks if the KF-21 Boramae deal pushes through, give a clear suggestion that there is a high likelihood that the said service branch might secure this deal, giving a way for them to secure a more capable fighter aircraft than the FA-50 light fighter trainer it currently operates and is now adding more squadron on the fleet, as this is the ideal path or ladder for end-users that uses military aircraft produced by the likes of Korea Aerospace Industries.
Another potential deal that comes with soft loans is the one with Leonardo regarding the Eurofighter Typhoon 2000 Tranche 5, as the Italian financing firm SACE met with officials of the Department of National Defense as a way of advancing its marketing of the capable fighter aircraft made by the consortium that Leonardo belongs, aside from its marketing of providing after-sales and logistical support for the aircraft once the Philippine Air Force decides in getting this multirole fighter jet.
Take note that revising Presidential Decree No. 415 is still needed, especially that permanently fixing it will give assurance for the national government to undertake defense deals under an affirmative provision that will allow the Department of National Defense to secure soft loan arrangements and other structured schemes. This will enable them to secure more expensive big-ticket projects, as what the multirole fighter jet package aims to secure.
Ultimately, getting the comprehensive multirole fighter jet program in motion, with assurances from the budgetary perspective, will ensure that the Philippine Air Force receives the boost it deserves to get, especially in this period where the current status quo in the Indo-Pacific region gets actively challenged by a regional power whose aim is on illegally securing the country’s EEZ domain.
Getting the needed tools and in preparation, the country is in a better position to ensure the territorial defense posture it aims to have.
(c) 2026 PDA
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