Additional FA-50PH For the Philippine Air Force?

The Philippine Air Force already possesses a squadron of these sophisticated air assets, which has proven a lot of its performance since it entered service just half a decade ago. Now, there are plans to buy at least another squadron of such aircraft, which some believes to be an alternative to the one of the big ticket acquisition projects of this said service branch.

DETAILS IN THE NEWS

Two of the twelve (12) FA-50PH that the Philippine Air Force currently has.
Image Source.

The Philippine Air Force is modernizing its squadrons of aircraft under the Flight Plan that it pushes until 2028, in-line with the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, which has three Horizons for its different branches to accomplish. At the time this article published, the modernization effort is now under Horizon 2, which spans from 2018 to 2022.

Currently, under this horizon, the Philippine Air Force is pushing for at least a squadron of Multirole Fighter Jet under the acquisition program that bears the same name, aiming on having a capability that is a step higher than the Lead-In Fighter Trainers that the FA-50PH of the air branch is currently has in its squadrons of different aircraft. The project's ABC or Allotted Budget for the Contract is at 61.2 Billion Philippine Pesos.

The Multirole Fighter Jet Acquisition Project is currently competing between Lockheed Martin's F-16 Block 70/72 and SAAB's JAS-39 Block C/D, which are both capable fighters aiming to be the backbone of the Philippine Air Force's air interdiction wing as part of its PADIZ implementation. Each has its own sets of problems presented that the Philippine Air Force sees it as an obstacle for the project itself.

For the Lockheed Martin's F-16 Block 70/72 offer, the major problem presented is with the package provided by the United States Government, through a release for the approval of sale in DSCA or the Defense Security Cooperation Agency website. The amount specified for the package pertaining to the F-16s is at US$2.43 Billion or 121.5 Billion Philippine Pesos. 

As for the SAAB's JAS-39 Gripen C/D variant, there is the recent news coming from Sweden that talks about the issues surrounding the sale of the aircraft to the country, pointing more to the Philippines' Human Rights Concerns that there are some groups of people within the Swedish Government that are ill-informed, although there are confirmations that the Philippines is pushing for a deal with the Swedish for these Multirole Fighter Jets.

With these concerns in consideration, we cannot dismiss the possibility that there might be chances that the Multirole Fighter Jet Acquisition Project may derail if things will not go to plan, although the chances that the said project will push through is now getting more likely as the government is working to complete and seal the deal within the year 2022 between two competing aerospace companies. 

Given the possibility, it is nice to present an additional to the Multirole Fighter Jet Program as the government is keen on pushing it through, with an idea of adding more FA-50PH that the Philippine Air Force already has in its fleet of aircraft being in the pipeline in achieving a High-Low mix of aircraft serving the Air Force's 5th Fighter Wing for implementing the Philippine Air Defense Identification Zone or PADIZ.

IN THE PIPELINE

Three FA-50PHs are in formation as they conduct a flyby for the country's 124th Independence Day Anniversary. (Joey O. Razon, Philippine News Agency)

Back to this article from the Philippine News Agency website, there were no specified details on how many units of the FA-50PH that the Philippine Air Force desires to add on its inventory of Lead-In Fighter Trainers or LIFT aircraft, although the original proposal for Surface Attack Aircraft/Lead-In Fighter Trainer aircraft under the original AFP Modernization Project (R.A. 7898) came with an idea of having at least 24 units for such type of aircraft in inventory.

Take note that for the Philippine Air Force, a single squadron of jets equates to have at least 12 units of aircraft in order to satisfy this requirement, so the original proposal under the Republic Act 7898 of the 1995 Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program should have at least two squadrons of such aircraft in its inventory, which in this case, is the FA-50PH that the air force currently has, with a single squadron currently in active service.

This means that following the said plans and proposals, the Philippine Air Force may need at least an additional 12 units of FA-50PH from South Korea's prime aerospace company 'Korea Aerospace Industries' or KAI in order to satisfy this requirement, which goes back to the article mentioned that PAF chief Lt. Gen. Connor Anthony Canlas Sr. said in his interview with the media on Monday about the proposal.

Other than that, the article mentioned Korea Aerospace Industries' plans to upgrade the capability of the FA-50s it currently produces, especially to increase its fuel capacity that increases its range especially on long-range operations and loitering time patrolling the airspace, while doing the same thing to its weapons carrying capacity, which makes it more formidable than it was when the Philippine Air Force first bought it from the South Korean aerospace company.

The said upgrade refers to the FA-50 Block 20 program started by Korea Aerospace Industries, which aims to improve capabilities of the aircraft, especially from the ones just mentioned regarding its carrying capacity, in what they aim to have fighter jet solution that is less expensive and seen as an alternative to multirole fighter jets like the F-16 Block 70 and JAS-39 Gripen Block C/D. See related article here.

The upgrade pushed by Korea Aerospace Industries makes sense, especially that the number of users of the T-50 Golden Eagle family has increased through time, with fellow countries in Southeast Asia like Indonesia and Thailand use them as fighter trainer aircraft for pilots in these said countries, given that they have the Multirole Fighter aircraft such as F-16 Falcon.

This consideration may become more relevant as more countries may get onboard the purchase of the Korean-made aircraft that has the same DNA as the Lockheed Martin F-16 Multirole Fighter and the South Korea's indigenous KF-21 Boramae 4.5th Generation Fighter Jet, which has started its first flight tests recently in a South Korean Air Force base in the southern city of Sacheon, in cooperation with South Korea's DAPA.

THE POLISH DEAL

Poland is one country that recently signed a deal for FA-50s from South Korea's Korean Aerospace Industries or KAI. Image Source.

The FA-50 Light Combat Fighter Trainer jets of the Korean Aerospace Industries recently came with an interesting twist, especially regarding its customers that are currently having them in their respective inventories or in obtaining such type of jets, whereby they recently struck a deal with an Eastern European country and also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO, the first one since the jet's inception.

The country we are referring to is the Eastern European country of Poland, in which its inventory currently has F-16 Falcon, aside from others such as the F-35 Lightning II Fighter Jets that the country ordered and its legendary Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29 Fighter jets that the Polish Air Force has the intention of replacing on, as these aircraft are increasingly difficult to maintain as spare parts became scarce.

Poland's contract process South Korea comes alongside the additional acquisition of at nearly a thousand (1,000) units of K2 Main Battle Tanks, whereby 180 units of it will produce in South Korea while the rest, at around 800 units, will get produced in Polish weapons factories at the second phase of the deal starting 2026, effectively giving the Polish Armed Forces the largest acquisition deal to date regarding armored units.

This deal does not cease here, as Poland also has an acquisition deal involving K9 Thunder Self-Propelled Howitzer by Hanwha Defense, in which 648 pieces of such military hardware have ordered by the aforementioned Eastern European country, benefiting both Poland and South Korea in the process as the former now fielding more weapons than ever and the latter getting significant gains at the sales point of view.

Effectively, additional sales for the FA-50 fighter trainer jets help increase the source of spare parts needed in maintenance that ensures that such platforms are operational, especially in the likes of the Philippine Air Force that currently has at least 12 of such FA-50 LIFTs in its inventory, as well as the prospects of getting an improved variant of the jets (Blocks 10 and 20) like what the Polish FA-50s may get along the way.

Speaking of the FA-50PL, the Block 10 comes with the British IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) Mark XIIA Mod 5/S, whilst the Block 20 comes with an AESA or airborne electronically scanned array radar, Sniper targeting pod, and Link 16 Datalink that makes it more of a capable fighter than the ones that the Philippine Air Force currently fielding, making the idea of adding more FA-50s a viable option on its own.

This makes sense as the leadership within the Philippine Air Force expressed its interest in having at least 24 FA-50 Lead-in Fighter Trainer Jets in its inventory, whilst keeping an assertion on finalizing the decision for the acquisition of Multirole Fighter Jets, which is an entirely separate acquisition project of the Philippine Air Force that is now competing between F-16 Block 70/72 and JAS-39 Gripen C/D jets.

ALMOST "MULTI-ROLE"

South Korean FA-50s dropping unguided munitions. Image Source.

One thing that the chief of the Philippine Air Force said in this interview in relation to the plans of adding more advanced variants of FA-50PH in their inventory, especially for its sub-units like the 5th Fighter Wing to use, is that these South Korean-made lead-in fighter trainer jets have an "almost multi-role" capability, whereby it can conduct air-to-ground operations, as well as it can conduct air-to-air operations.

While it has the capability that may mimic the Multirole Fighter Jets, the Philippine Air Force is seeking advanced dedicated multirole fighters like the F-16 Block 70/72 and the JAS-39 Gripen Block C/D of Lockheed Martin and SAAB, respectively, clearly showing that these light combat jets have intended for pilots to train and familiarize a system that may get introduced later on, through a separate acquisition project.

This comes similarly with Poland, wherein they opt to buy FA-50s for its air force, as the FA-50s they purchased from South Korea has similarities with the F-16 Fighting Falcons that the Polish Air Force already has in its inventory, and the upcoming F-35 Lightning II Fighter Jets the Polish Armed Forces purchased from Lockheed Martin, as the first units ordered may get delivered on the first batches by the year 2024.

Speaking of the capabilities that the Philippine Air Force FA-50PH Lead-In Fighter Trainers possess, these said light fighter trainer jets have used in an actual conflict such as the 2018 Marawi siege, whereby it has coined by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Gen. Carlito Galvez as a 'game-changer' when the exchange of gunfire between the government forces and the radical group took place, providing that highly needed close air support to the troops on the ground.

Aside from utilizing the FA-50s in an actual conflict such as the 2018 Marawi siege, the Philippine Air Force also used them in conducting bilateral exercises with the United States Air Force, such as the Bilateral Air Contingent Exchange-Philippines (BACE-P), whereby these lead-in fighter trainers, along with the pilots onboard are going head-on with the modern F-16s that their U.S. counterparts brought along.

Add to this is the desire of the current Marcos administration to keep on pushing and pursuing the Modernization of the Philippine Armed Forces under the Republic Act 10349 that has started by his two predecessors, especially that he expressed his support on equipping the Philippine Air Force with the "state-of-the-art" fighter jets, of which the FA-50PHs counts as under this category alongside Multirole Fighter Jets awaiting award to the preferable bidder.

Hence, the possibility of the plans for acquiring additional FA-50PH for the Philippine Air Force is not that far, with newer variants providing additional capabilities for this branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to do, albeit not enough for it to be considered as an alternative of the Multirole Fighter Jet Acquisition Project, whereby this program is still ongoing at the time this article's publishing.

TO SURMISE THIS UP

FA-50PH of the Philippine Air Force taking off from an airbase. (c) PAF, via Image Source.

The Philippine Air Force, along with other service branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, such as the Philippine Army and the Philippine Navy, are working and pursuing in all of their effort to push the desire of further Modernizing the capabilities of each mentioned, ranging from reorganizing their respective their sub-units to the acquisition of large ticket military assets like the FA-50PH Lead-in Fighter Trainer.

Speaking of the FA-50PH of the Philippine Air Force, it marked as the jet that helped the organization returning to the jet age, after a decade that the last of the F-5 A/B has decommissioned from service in 2005, whereby it served the 5th Fighter Wing for 40 years, when it was first entered service in 1965 and has served as the primary platform for the Blue Diamond aerobatic team.

Currently, the Philippine Air Force has at least 12 units of FA-50PH, whereby it comprises as a single squadron by this service branch, with their current desire to add at least 12 more units, or another squadron of FA-50PH that came as an advanced variant that the Korean Aerospace Industries or KAI currently markets to different countries, with Poland, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, being its latest customer.

Apparently, with Poland, one reason they opt the South Korean made FA-50s for replenishing their inventory of fighter aircraft after decommissioning their MiG-29s is the increasing waiting orders for the F-16 Viper Block 70/72 Multirole Fighter Jet that could have been to increase the number of the existing F-16s Poland currently have, a concern also shared by the planners within the Philippine Air Force when they talk about the Multirole Fighter Jet Acquisition Project, itself an entirely different project than the one about additional FA-50s.

Despite the long queues, Lockheed Martin and the United States government are still pitching their F-16 Block 70/72 offer to the Philippine Air Force, as it competes with the JAS-39 Gripen C/D Multirole Fighter Jet from Swedish Aerospace Manufacturer SAAB, whereby there is an argument that both the F-16 Fighter Jets and the FA-50s that the Philippine Air Force currently has shared commonalities on its ecosystem.

And to take note, the Philippine Air Force are both pursuing for a Multirole Fighter Jet and additional FA-50s on its inventory, with each having 12 units or what is to be equivalent to a single squadron within the air service branch, whereby the former may serve as a dedicated platform that secure the Philippine Air Defense Identification Zone or PADIZ, while the latter primarily serve as a training platform, doubling as a light combat aircraft, a force multiplier to the Multirole Fighter Jet.

In the end, it would be at the discretion of the leadership within the Philippine Air Force, together with those within the Department of National Defense, whether the acquisition plan to purchase more FA-50PH may push through, as the government may get to prepare to what the Third Horizon may bring by year 2023, with itself coming with larger big ticket projects intended for the improvement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its overall capabilities until the year 2028.

(c) 2022 PDA.

Share:

Read More

The Philippine Navy's Landing Docks Acquisition Project

Since the start of implementing the Revised AFP Modernization Program or the Republic Act 10349 way back in 2013, the Philippine Navy were in the works of improving its fleet of warships, ranging from obtaining additional Frigates, Corvettes, and even Offshore Patrol Vessels sought to replace its old World War 2 vessels, most of which already retired at the time of this article's writeup.

One of those implemented is the Strategic Sealift Vessel or the SSV program, sought to buy 2 Landing Platform Docks to the Philippine Navy, whereby they successfully provided the deal that produced such naval vessels of what is now known as the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks.

The Philippine Navy will have two more of such type of naval vessels, under an entirely different acquisition project known as the "Landing Docks Acquisition Project".

DISCUSSION OVERVIEW

The new design of the PT PAL's prospective Landing Platform Dock, with a sleeker design.
It closely resembles the Philippine Navy's Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks.
(c) PT PAL Persero Indonesia, YouTube.

Six years ago, in 2016, the year when the Pitz Defense Analysis website was still in its infancy, the Philippine Navy's newest Landing Platform Dock BRP Tarlac LD-601 has christened and launched as a newest vessel of the Philippine fleet in Indonesia's PT PAL drydock, wherein it took place January of that year, with the projected delivery of the Landing Platform Dock to the country will take place five months from the said event.

Just as projected, the newest Landing Platform Dock in the Philippine Navy, as well as the largest Philippine Navy-owned vessel to date, arrived in Manila's Pier 13 in May 2016, exactly a year before BRP Tarlac's sister ship, BRP Davao del Sur, arrived in the country whereby it marked the completion of the Philippine Navy's Strategic Sealift Vessel Acquisition Project, aiming to buy at least two Landing Platform Docks for the fleet.

Since then, both of the aforementioned landing platform docks that form the Tarlac-class are currently serving the Philippine Navy in their full capacity, serving in delivery of goods and personnel both in times of war and natural calamities, such as transporting military personnel from the conflict in the 2017 Marawi Siege or the delivery of relief goods to the victims affected by the devastation of Typhoon Odette in Siargao island.

Years later, up to the date this article has published, the Philippine Navy has once again provided the contract to have another two Landing Platform Docks in its fleet to the Indonesian shipbuilder, with its design being reminiscent of the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks, which in return derived from the South Korean Makassar-class Landing Platform Docks in the Indonesian Navy, supplied by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering or DSME.

With the current Landing Docks Acquisition Project awarded to the Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL Persero, this will mark the second contract being awarded to a shipbuilder from a neighboring country in the Southeast Asia Region for the production and delivery of two Landing Platform Docks, adding it up to at least four (4) of such warships that the Philippine Navy will have, all of which made by from this company.

This comes as Indonesia already has its own capable military-industrial complex, such as building its own naval assets under license like the Martadinata-class Frigates, whereby its design has derived from the SIGMA 10514 of Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding from the Netherlands, or the Nagapasa-class submarines of the Indonesian Navy, wherein like the Makassar-class, has derived from a design supplied by DSME known as the improved Chang Bogo-class submarines (DSME-1400).

In this topic, we will discuss in-depth this acquisition project and a similar acquisition project that came before it, especially with the construction of both BRP Tarlac and BRP Davao del Sur and its service within the Philippine Navy included in this article, as well as the history of the Indonesian shipbuilder that produces these landing platform docks and the development that came with the design of the ships that came to be what it is today.

KNOWING PT PAL INDONESIA

PT PAL's main headquarters in Surabaya, East Java in Indonesia. 
By Consigliere Ivan from Bontang, Indonesia - PT PAL Jan 2018, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75609590

Based on the company profile that PT PAL has provided on its website in this link provided (archived), it started in 1939 when the Dutch colonial government that has its domain over the Indonesia during those times has inaugurated a shipyard named as Marine Establishment, wherein the Indonesian shipbuilder described it as the mark that PT PAL as a shipbuilder established.

During the Second World War, it is a well-known information that Indonesia, along with other countries in Southeast Asia, was under the control and occupation of the forces from the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, whereby during this period, they took over the Dutch-inaugurated Marine Establishment and change the shipbuilder's name from such to Kaigun SE 2124.

Upon the Independence achieved by the Indonesians when they first declare it on August 17, 1945, up to its recognition by the Dutch government four years later in 1949, they nationalized Marine Establishment as a shipbuilder into what is now PAL, abbreviated as Penataran Angkatan Laut or "Navy shipyard" as translated from Bahasa Indonesia, with its aim focused on maintaining Indonesian naval vessels.

PT PAL, in its current iteration as a Limited Liability Company or Perseroan Terbatas (PT), has put into effect on April 15, 1980, based on Government Regulation Number 4 of 1980, in which its role as Indonesia's key shipbuilder gets more significant when the Indonesian government issued the Law No. 16 of 2012 that gives improvement to the country's own military defense industry, enabling it to produce more warships and civilian vessels to its customers based on their requirements, as well as making it possible for them to export warships to countries like the Philippines.

Basically, PT PAL Indonesia Persero was once a public company owned by the government until it became a state-owned limited liability company, under the umbrella of the Indonesian state-owned companies such as the PT Len Industries that focuses on developing sophisticated technologies, PT Dirgantara Indonesia that focuses more on producing aerospace products such as the NC-212i that the Philippine Air Force has, and PT Pindad which at one point marketed their Harimau Hitam and APS-3 Panser Anoa to the Philippine Army.

The warships that PT PAL as the primary shipbuilder in Indonesia produce ranges from small fast missile boats such as the KCR-60 (abbreviated Kapal Cepat Rudal) or more known as the Sampari-class fast attack crafts within the Indonesian Navy, to large Landing Platform Docks that derived from the Makassar-class Landing Platform Docks such as the Banjarmasin-class and the Philippine Navy's very own Tarlac-class that can proudly said as PT PAL and Indonesian naval industry's first warship export.

Given that the Philippines is the first country that PT PAL exports its Landing Platform Dock product aside from being the primary supplier of warships for the Indonesian Navy, it comes with an understandable logic, especially at the logistical standpoint, that the awarding of the new Landing Docks Acquisition Project will go to this Indonesian shipbuilder, especially given that the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks they delivered earlier came with a good reputation as it serves the Philippine Navy.

THE ORIGINAL STRATEGIC SEALIFT VESSEL ACQUISITION PROJECT

BRP Tarlac (LD-601) moored off the coast of Sangley Point In Cavite.
By Lawrence Ruiz (Epi Fabonan III) - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77729113.

Before the recent iteration of a Philippine Navy Landing Platform Dock has visualized and materialized, there were plans laid by the Department of National Defense that seek to gain such large vessels that will benefit the country in both security-related and disaster-related matters, whereby the logistical chain of goods travelling across the archipelago is fully attainable.

This visualization started at the ending years of the Arroyo administration way back 2009, when the Multi-Role Vessel Acquisition Project has put into plans, with the primary vessel being the South Korean-designed Makassar-class Landing Platform Dock, the same ones that the Indonesians built in their PT PAL shipyard and the one that the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks have derived from.

The first discussions between the Philippine Navy and PT PAL for the sale of Landing Platform Dock started way back May 16, 2011, whereby this discussion has still counted as part of the Multi-Role Vessel Acquisition Project rather than the later-revised Strategic Sealift Vessel Acquisition Project, with the Indonesian shipbuilder hoping during that time that they can supply at least three units, basing an indigenous Indonesian design.

Compared it to the outcome of the Strategic Sealift Vessel Acquisition Project, what PT PAL supplied to the Philippine Navy was not that far off, as the Indonesian shipbuilder has provided the end-user at least two Landing Platform Docks, with the design considered as indigenously made in Indonesia, although elements from the original South Korean-designed Makassar-class Landing Platform Docks has given influence on the design of what would be the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks as it comes almost at the similar size, configuration on the helipads and hangar, down to the well deck of the warship.

Speaking of the Strategic Sealift Vessel Acquisition Project, the Invitation to Bid for the procurement of two Strategic Sealift Vessels (or Landing Platform Docks) has released by the Department of National Defense way back June 2013, with the pre-bid conference took place just a month later, on July 2nd, whereby the Approved Budget for the Contract or ABC has amounted to Php 4 Billion, just a Billion Peso less than the original Php 5 Billion acquisition plan under the original Multirole Vessel Acquisition Project.

The contract for the two Landing Platform Docks has awarded to PT PAL Indonesia (Persero) in 2014 with the signing took place in July 2014, whereby the delivery dates for both the warships has slated by at least two and three years upon the signing of the contract, in the year 2016 and 2017 for both BRP Tarlac (LD-601) and its sistership BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602) respectively, in which PT PAL Indonesia successfully delivered these vessels, the largest ones currently serving the Philippine Navy, to date.

The acquisition marked a significant milestone for PT PAL Indonesia, as this served as the very first export of a naval warship made by an Indonesian state-owned company to another country's naval fleet to use, as this further bolster the capability of the Indonesian shipbuilding industry, as well as the Indonesian military-industrial complex in its entirety, with the added confidence of making attempts on exporting their naval products to other countries such as the United Arab Emirates.

THE CURRENT LANDING DOCKS ACQUISITION PROJECT

Stern of the new Strategic Sealift Vessel Design of PT PAL, with several specifications provided.
(c) PT PAL Indonesia Persero, YouTube Channel.

Earlier in the year 2022, the Department of National Defense reiterated its interest in gaining two more Landing Platform Docks, despite the number of delays on the Landing Dock Acquisition Project since 2019 because of the disqualification of the lowest bidder, the restart of bidding process that took place after it, and the global pandemic that happened all throughout the years 2020 and 2021.

This took the defense department and the end user, the Philippine Navy, at least three years since the year this said acquisition project has started, whereby the notice of award for two additional Landing Platform Docks has just awarded recently to PT PAL Indonesia (Persero) at the contract price of Php 5.56 Billion, or at least Php 2.78 Billion per unit of a Landing Platform Dock that is an improved design of the Tarlac-class LPDs.

The said notice of award has issued on June 5, 2022, showing that the Indonesian shipbuilder has won the contract for the Landing Dock Acquisition Project, which is understandable from the logistical and logical point of view, especially given that the Philippine Navy sees the commonality on the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks and the one under this project as both have originated from the said shipbuilder.

PT PAL Indonesia won over other prospective bidders that have taken part in this acquisition project, such as Samkang M&T from South Korea, POSCO International, which is still from South Korea, and GOA Shipyard Limited from India, whereby they provided their own prospective bid offers for the project, but did not take through and take the bid, especially given PT PAL's record in providing the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks previously to the Philippine Navy.

Just like the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks, the new Landing Docks will still feature a dimension of around 123-meter length, 21.8 meter beam, and a 5 meter draft, although it comes with 1 unit Landing Craft Unit per Landing Platform Dock instead of two per Landing Platform Dock which can found on the Tarlac-class, and several FFBNW items (Fitted for, but not with) that may add later on a separate procurement process.

Speaking of Fitted for, but not with items or FFBNW, the Philippine Navy provided in-detail the subsystems that they have planned on installing onboard the new Landing Platform Docks, such as the 76mm Oto Melara Super Rapid Gun 120 rpm that are also found onboard the Jose Rizal-class Frigates and soon to be the new HDC-3100 Corvettes and Offshore Patrol Vessels.

Other subcomponents that counts as FFBNW are the 30mm ASELSAN SMASH RCWS (Remote-Controlled Weapons System), either the Oerlikon Millenium Gun from Rheinmetall or the GOKDENIZ Gun 35mm CIWS (Close-in Weapons System), Leonardo NA-25X Fire Control System, and Terma C-Guard Decoy Launching System, several of which are also available onboard the Jose Rizal-class Frigates or may form a part of the HDC-3100 Corvette subcomponents.

TO SUM IT UP

The Tarlac-class Landing Platform Docks comprise the largest vessels that the Philippine Navy operates to-date. (c) David Grindley, Flickr.

The Philippine Navy, nearing the end of the Duterte administration on June 30, 2022, has signed multiple acquisition projects related to the AFP Modernization Program, most of which are from the Philippine Navy, whereby among those projects that has awarded to their prospective bidders during this period include the Landing Dock Acquisition Project.

The notice of award provided to the Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL Persero simply adds up the number of Landing Platform Docks that the Philippine Navy may soon have, from two vessels to four vessels, all of which have made by the said shipbuilder and the design being a derivative of what the Indonesian Navy or the Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut has, the Makassar-class Landing Platform Docks.

This marks as the second successful instance for the Indonesian shipbuilder to export warships to a foreign country, whereby it is at the same time a neighboring country in Southeast Asia and also a co-member of the Association of Southeast Asia Countries or ASEAN, as the deal further cements the foreign relations of both Indonesia and the Philippines regarding defense cooperation.

In this recent export prospect made by PT PAL Indonesia (Persero), it is interesting for the shipbuilder to further bolster its military industrial capability, in which it serves as one of the reference points for the Philippines shall it pursue its own Self-Reliance Defense Posture, particularly that the Revised AFP Modernization Program under the Republic Act 10349 is now nearing the Horizon 3 phase, starting from 2023 up to the year 2028.

Along the way, PT PAL Indonesia has gained itself a nice reputation wherein, along with other shipbuilders that provide the naval vessels to the Philippine Navy, such as the South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries or HHI, supplied the fleet new warships that sets definition to the efforts of different administrations from 2013 up to present in arming up and improve the Philippine Armed Forces, particularly the Navy.

Eventually, both the Indonesian shipbuilder and the Philippine Navy benefit in every way in this endeavor, as the former set sights to a wider global defense market, hoping to secure deals with other countries such as the United Arab Emirates, whereby they bagged a contract for its own Landing Platform Docks, while the latter is now about to get four Landing Platform Docks, improving logistical chains in the archipelagic nation.

To surmise this article, the development unfolded in the Philippine Navy's purchase of two additional Landing Platform Docks from the same shipbuilder may open further for future cooperations, especially with the plans like having a dedicated Hospital Ship may set fruition along the way, improving the capabilities of the Navy fleet in transporting goods and equipment in areas concerned, both in wartime and in peacetime.

(c) 2022 PDA.

Share:

Read More

Detailing Elbit's Sabrah Light Tank Offer

The Philippine Army Light Tank Acquisition Project intensifies as the prospective bidders that took part in the project are offering any additives ranging from additional freebies as sweeteners to better package deals to bag this project outright and to bring out the best from the allocated budget for this contracted procurement process, of which the Israeli company opted to showcase the latter.

OVERVIEW

This is an artist's impression of the ASCOD II tank with an Elbit Turret, which makes it a Sabrah light tank. From Elbit's Brochure.

Currently, the Philippine Army is starting its production of units that are primarily dealing with light tanks and fire support vehicles wherein, it is the program was once having a stiff competition between Elbit of Israel, PT Pindad of Indonesia, and Hanwha of South Korea wherein they showcase their different platforms with the aims of bagging the project and capture this portion of Southeast Asia's military and arms market.

Apparently, the deal gets nearer as the Department of Budget and Management or DBM has just released a Special Allotment Release Order or SARO which augments an agency's current budget for the year 2020, spanning multiple items of the organizational budget system from its Personnel Services or PS down to the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses or MOOE and Capital Outlay or CO.

The SARO provided by DBM detailed a funding requirement of 15% advance payment for the Light Tank Acquisition Project which may show that the materialization of the procurement process is closer to the awarding of the winning proponent or the Philippine Army's Bids and Awards Committee has already decided on which prospective bidder that the project will awarded to since their procurement process usually came with a certification of funds availability, a usual process provided by the Government Procurement Policy Board or GPPB under the Government Procurement Law or R.A. 9184. 

Also to take note that will correlate to this article's main topic, the supplier of this product is reputable for providing changed M-113s fitted with remote-controlled weapons systems or mortar mounts that essentially improves the capability of the Philippine Army's Mechanized Division in terms of automated firepower systems fit that aims to eliminate enemy targets with ease.

As the developments now clearly seen with one of the Philippine Army's key projects under the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program or RAFPMP (R.A. 10349), it is worth discussing this tank configuration provided by the Israeli company which differs from the variants that have previously discussed here on this website.

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Elbit's Sabrah Light Tank features an automated turret solution, fitted onboard and tracked
vehicle and a wheeled one, chassis of both the ASCOD and PANDUR, respectively.
Sourced from Elbit's Sabrah Tank Brochure.

It has widely known back then before this information has released to the public that the Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit, was pushing its candidates for the Philippine Army's Light Tank Acquisition Project for both the wheeled and tracked category, pointing to both the PANDUR and ASCOD armored vehicles which were discussed thoroughly on this website through these links below:

- The Idea of Having Excalibur Army's Pandur 2 8x8 Fire Support Vehicles for the Philippine Army, written September 22, 2019.

- The ASCOD Medium Main Battle Tank Option for the Philippine Army, written September 15, 2019.

While most of the discussions that were published on those respective dates cover the history and development of these platforms from inception to their current active services in countries like Spain and Austria as in the case for ASCOD and Czechia as for PANDUR's case, this development came as Elbit's solution of providing a platform that adheres to the requirements specified by the Philippine Army that it looks for these platforms, a factor that made it possible for the Israeli arms company to bag the contract.

As discussed in the ASCOD article linked above, an original ASCOD Medium Main Battle Tank configuration has originally fitted with a HITFACT turret made by Leonardo Defense Systems, in which the Italian company also produced the 105mm version which should be the configuration for this build that was offered to the Philippine Army until a highlight in requirement pointing on an autoloader feature prompted this original configuration replaced by Elbit's Sabrah Tank solutions.

Elbit's competitor, the joint venture of South Korea's Hanwha Systems and Turkey's Otokar showcased their tanks such as the former's K21-105 Light Tank fitted with CMI Defense (now John Cockerill)'s C3105 autoloader gun turret which, as fellow defense page Philippine Defense Resource pointed out in their article that it convinced the Philippine Army that a light tank with an autoloader feature is more helpful than what Elbit offered before, with Leonardo Defense Systems's manually loaded HITFACT turret.

The marketing stint on autoloader systems, which convinced the Philippine Army about the advantages it offer to the Armored "Pambato" Division's overall capabilities, prompted Elbit to revise its offer on its candidates for the Light Tank Acquisition Project, have led to the Sabrah tank solution which will discuss further in the following paragraph regarding its configuration.

EUROSATORY 2022

The Sabrah Light Tank fitted to an ASCOD Pizarro II chassis in Paris' Eurosatory 2022 Exhibition.
(c) Army Recognition.

Israel's Elbit Systems, after a year of conceptualizing the design and won a contract for the Philippine Army's Light Tank Acquisition Project, has finally showcased the Sabrah Tank by having one of the conceptual units displayed for the 2022 Eurosatory International Weaponry Industry Trade Fair, held every two years in Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, Paris, France.

This biennial event is being done by COGES Events, in partnership with the French Ministry of Defense. It showcased lots of military hardware from multiple military and arms suppliers, such as Israel's Elbit Systems Ltd. It is also a known thing that they showcased their ASCOD Medium Main Battle Tank in the 2018 iteration of the French Eurosatory Weapons Fair before Sabrah Light Tank became a thing.

The event comes similarly to the locally done Asian Defense and Security Exhibition or ADAS; itself being an initiative of the Philippine Government through the Department of National Defense, together with the Singapore-based APAC EXPO PTE LTD, which helped together conducting events like ADAS in the best interest of the Philippines' national security and sovereignty.

As seen in the image above, the Sabrah Light Tank configuration comes with an ASCOD Pizarro II chassis, which itself is the main production-type vehicle of General Dynamics European Land System or GDELS for the country of Spain, which names it as the Pizarro Armored Personnel Carrier and differs from the Austrian ULAN and the British AJAX armored vehicles, although all of which belonged to the ASCOD family of vehicles.

Take note that the ASCOD Pizarro II is currently being used by the Spanish Armed Forces and, being a second iteration, is an improved variant of the ASCOD Pizarro Armored Fighting Vehicles that has a refined hull design and improved weapons stabilization system, which with the Philippine Army, comes with the Elbit Sabrah Tank turret developed by the same Israeli arms development company.

The type of vehicle used, for the sake of clarification, is fully different from the concept-based ASCOD MMBT or Medium Main Battle Tank, whereby this type of armored vehicle came as a 42-ton option and with its main weapon being the HITFACT 120mm turret, itself being the original offer for this acquisition project for the Philippine Army before Elbit revised its offer and became the preferred supplier for the vehicles.

So, basically put, the Sabrah Light Tank, as it has showcased by Elbit in the French Eurosatory 2022 Weapons Fair in the city of Paris, will have the ASCOD Pizarro II armored fighting vehicle as its primary chassis, and may likely be the configuration for the Philippine Army's tracked Light Tank Acquisition Project, alongside the wheeled ones, wherein it will be for the Czech Pandur armored vehicles to have.

THE INCEPTION OF AN ISRAELI-DEVELOPED TURRET SOLUTION

Sabrah Tank Turret developed by Elbit Systems Ltd., referencing the company's experience in developing such systems along with the Israel Defense Force (IDF)'s "Merkava" Directorate "MANTAK" combat-proven Armored Vehicles. (c) Elbit Systems Ltd.

The tank turret came with a 105mm gun configuration, along with the sophistication that came along with, whereby it can operate and manned by two personnel, making it three personnel manning the Sabrah light tank, including the driver that will drive the chassis that are derived either from the Spanish ASCOD Pizarro II, or the Czech Pandur II 8x8 Armored Fighting Vehicles for the wheeled version of the light tank.

Sabrah Tank turret's development came from the change of configuration by Elbit's part, as their offer for the Philippine Army's Light Tank Acquisition Project came in a form of Oto Melara's HITFACT 105mm gun turret that is typically found on the ASCOD 2 MMBT, with the change seen as part of the Israeli defense firm's compliance to the requirements set by the Philippine Army for this acquisition project.

Take note that the other competitors for the Philippine Army's Light Tank Acquisition Project, both the Turkish-Indonesian Harimau Hitam Tank and the South Korean K21-105 Tank came with a Belgian Defense Firm John Cockerill (formerly CMI Defence) with its C3105 gun turret, coming with a higher gun elevation arc capability, along with a sophisticated autoloader system installed onboard.

The offers made by competitors prompted Elbit to opt in a new gun turret system, in which they made the development in joint cooperation between the Israeli defense firm and their counterparts in the Israeli Ministry of Defense through the Israel Defense Force Merkava Directorate, the one that oversees development military hardware for the Israeli Defense Force or IDF such as the Merkava Main Battle Tank, in which it is being fielded by the IDF ground forces across the country.

Another interesting tidbit got by the people behind the repository webpage Philippine Defense Resource, the development of the Sabrah Gun turret also came with a help that came from a South African defense firm, itself being a gun turret manufacturer with an experience of producing such subcomponents, primarily with the South African National Defense Force and its armored vehicles.

One such South African firm that is seen in developing gun turrets is the Denel SOC Ltd., a South African state-owned firm with its business orientation aimed at military technology wherein it has established in 1992, with its expertise centered in maintaining the Rooikat-76 Armored Fighting Vehicle, with LMT-105 gun turret upgrade provided to the said Armored Vehicle in service within South Africa's ground forces. 

Apparently, this article linked pointed Denel's capability in producing gun turrets, specifically its 20mm and 30mm gun systems that go reminiscent to the Elbit's very own 25mm Remote-Controlled Weapons System or RCWS that serve with the Philippine Army's M-113 Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles, specifically the Unmanned Turrets of different variants like the UT-25/ORCWS 25 and UT-30MK2 gun mounts.

COMPARISON WITH JOHN COCKERILL C3105 TURRET

Specifications for John Cockerill C3105 Tank Turret.
From John Cockerill Brochure.

Elbit's competition for the Light Tank Acquisition Project argues the advantages of using their respective candidates for the project, specifically highlighting the capabilities of the John Cockerill's C3105 tank gun turret as a subcomponent, wherein it gets advanced features like a 12-16 round autoloader, as well as a 360-degree external cameras and smoke grenade launchers as protection for the armored unit.

As for the Sabrah Tank's gun turret, it also features a 360-degree external camera, which they called it in the brochure they showcased as a panoramic sight, an autoloader that has a rate of fire at around 6 rounds per minute, and 8 units of 76mm smoke grenade launchers for protection of the Sabrah Tank, in a gesture of countering offers made by the competition and eventually sealing the deal with the Philippine Army.

The ready ammunition setup for the Sabrah tank comes with 12 rounds in the autoloader drum, along with 24 more rounds in the tank's hull, with the autoloader made by Elbit having a manual backup loading option that can be useful in case the Sabrah Tank's autoloader system knocks out of service, as the backup can help the armored unit throw its firepower against an enemy target.

The similarities in both the John Cockerill C3105 tank gun turret and the Sabrah Tank gun turret as developed by both the Elbit Systems Ltd together with the Israel Defense Force Merkava Directorate is that both gun turrets only require at least two personnel to operate the loading and firing the tank's guns, specifically with the roles being the tank commander and the gunner, with the tank driver completing the three-man team operating an armored unit such as a tank.

Simply put, the efforts made by Elbit Systems, together with the help made by Israel Defense Force Merkava Directorate and a South African defense manufacturer, helped the Israeli firm develop a sophisticated and capable gun turret that can compete with the John Cockerill guns that came with the South Korean K21-105 and Indonesian Harimau Hitam Tanks, sealing the deal and contract for the Light Tank Acquisition Program of the Philippine Army, as well as showing Elbit's desire to win the project.

TO SUMMARIZE THIS UP

Features of the Sabrah Tank, which the Philippine Army will have for its Light Tank Acquisition Project.
(c) Elbit Systems Ltd.

The Philippine Army's Armor "Pambato" Division will be the first user across the globe that will operate the Sabrah Tanks, especially the newly developed tank gun turrets provided by Elbit Systems Ltd., although the Philippine Army will join the ranks of Spain, Austria, and the United Kingdom in operating an ASCOD armored fighting vehicle variant, and the likes of Austria and the Czech Republic in operating a Pandur armored fighting vehicle variant.

Given the Elbit's development of the gun turret for what will be the Sabrah Tanks, we still consider it an impressive thing that they fully pulled this off, wherein the help of Israel Defense Force Merkava Directorate and the South African turret manufacturer provided their expertise that can counter the offer of other bidders of the deal, which primary fielded their proven tank turret from John Cockerill (formerly CMI Defense).

Let us take note that while the gun turret is a newly developed subcomponent for the Sabrah Tank offer under the Philippine Army's Light Tank Acquisition Project, the chassis used for Elbit's offer are the Pandur II 8x8 wheeled armored fighting vehicles and the ASCOD II tracked armored fighting vehicles, both of which are primarily produced by General Dynamics European Land Systems or GDELS, whereby it is currently being used by the militaries in several of the European countries such as Spain, Austria, and Czechia.

With these things slowly unfolding and with the delivery of these armored vehicles taking place later on, the Philippine Army will have a resurgence of having a better-capable armor division that came with light tanks wherein it augments the current ones that the Philippine Army has such as the M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier, as well as the other vehicles like the V150 Cadillac Gage Commando and the GKN Simba wheeled armored vehicles, together with the Iveco VBTP-MR Guarani from a separate project.

Summing this up, the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems Ltd., has showcased its desire to win the Philippine Army's Light Tank Acquisition Project to where they revised the specifications of their candidate armored unit in order to satisfy the minimum bid requirements that the Philippine Army, being the end-user of this acquisition project, needs to have for its inventory, and it is worthy to say that they succeeded in this thing, securing another contract and gaining a bit of the country's defense market even more.

(c) 2022 PDA.

Share:

Read More