US State Dep’t ready to fill PH’s biggest, costliest arms shopping list

.The Philippines has ordered a squadron of AH-64E “Apache” attack helicopters.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The US State Department has told Congress that it plans to sell to the Philippines a squadron of AH-64E “Apache” attack helicopters, hundreds of FIM-92 portable anti-aircraft “Stinger” and air-to-ground M-36 “”Hellfire” missiles, and an assortment of other weapons and military equipment worth over $2 billion (about  P100 billion).

By law, the State Department is required to notify Congress of proposed arms sales to foreign governments. If the sale is approved, it’s going to be the single biggest and most expensive arms purchase by the Philippines.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in South-East Asia,” the State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

The agency also assured that it will not alter the balance of power in the region or affect the US military’s own combat readiness.

“This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded,” the agency wrote.

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has embarked on the most intensive modernization of the country’s largely obsolescent military, slated to procure for the first time ever, defensive missile technology.

But he has also veered away from the traditional reliance on US-made weapons, going to South Korea and Europe to buy new armaments while cozying up to China and Russia.

Also on the Philippines’ shopping list are FIM-92 portable anti-aircraft “Stinger” and air-to-ground M-36 “”Hellfire” missiles.

The DSCA said the Philippines has requested to buy the following:

Six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters; 18 T700-GE-701D engines (12 installed, 6 spares); 15 Honeywell Embedded Global Positioning Systems/Inertial Navigation (EGIs) w/Precise Positioning Service (PPS) (12 installed, 3 spares); 200 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles; 12 M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); 300 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Kits; 1,700 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Guidance Sections; six AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/AN/AAR-11 Modernized Pilot Night Vision Sensors (M-TADS/PNVS);

Six AN/APG-78 Fire Control Radars (FCR) with Radar Electronic Units (REU); six AN/APR-48B Modernized-Radar Frequency Interferometers (M-RFI); eight AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS) (6 installed, 2 spares); 200 FIM-92H Stinger missiles; eight Manned-Unmanned Teaming-2 (MUMT-2i) Video Receivers (6 installed, 2 spares); and eight Manned­Unmanned Teaming-2 (MUMT-2i) Air-Air-Ground Kits (6 installed, 2 spares).

Also included are eight AN/AVR-2B Laser Detecting sets (6 installed, 2 spares); eight AN/APR-39C(V)l+ Radar Signal Detecting sets (6 installed, 2 spares); 14 Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio Systems (SINCGARS) radios (12 installed, 2 spares); 14 UHF/VHF/LOS airborne radios (12 installed, 2 spares); eight AN/APX-123A (V) Common Transponders (6 installed, 2 spares); eight IDM-401 Improved Data Modems (6 new, 2 spares); eight AN/ARN-149 (V)3 Automatic Direction Finders (6 installed, 2 spares);

Eight Doppler ASN-157 Doppler Radar Velocity Sensors (6 installed, 2 spares); eight AN/APN-209 Radar Altimeters (6 installed, 2 spares); eight AN/ARN-153 Tactical Air Navigation sets (TACAN) (6 installed, 2 spares); four TACAN Ground Stations; eight Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Range/Instrument Landing Systems (VOR/ILS) (6 installed, 2 spares); three AN/PYQ-10(C) Simple Key Loader (3 new); six M230El + M139 AWS Automatic Gun (6 new); 18 M261 rocket launchers (12 new, 6 spares); 18 M299 missile launchers (12 new, 6 spares);

Six rocket motor, 2.75-inch, MK66-4, Inert (6 new); six High Explosive Warhead for Airborne 2.75 Rocket, Inert (6 new); 18 Stinger air-to-air launchers (18 new); 12 Stinger Captive Flight Trainers (CFT) (12 new); six Stinger Aerial Handling Trainers (AHT) (6 new); 5,000 each 2.75 inch rockets (5,000 new); 80,000 30mm rounds (80,000 new), training devices, communication systems, helmets, simulators, generators, transportation and organization equipment, spare and repair parts, support equipment, tools and test equipment, technical data and publications, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support.

The principal contractors will be Boeing, Mesa, Arizona; and Lockheed Martin, Orlando, Florida.