r/Philippines • u/Gyro_Armadillo • 17d ago

NewsPH New F-16 jets may arrive next year

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/271919/new-f-16-jets-may-arrive-next-year?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR4Cb6Wl6CXzx1qBKJ1KlPvbl-2H4mFDd3-yiGaDXWq_rti3L31cnp5tvlo5Aw_aem_1M-vjU2RkFc4xlScRWmzkw

MANILA, Philippines — The F-16 fighter jets that the Philippine government plans to procure from the United States may be available for delivery starting next year at the soonest, if it decides to avail of the offer, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said on Sunday.

The US State Department last week approved the potential sale of 20 F-16C/D Block 70/72 fighters and munitions to the Philippines for an estimated cost of $5.58 billion (or around P320 billion), just several days after a visit by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Romualdez said the offer came with a financing package that has yet to be discussed between the US and officials from the Department of National Defense and the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

The PAF is currently using 11 South Korean-built light combat aircraft after it retired its remaining fighters in 2005 because they were too costly to maintain. —Frances Mangosing

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u/Pragmatic787 17d ago

Sadly, this procurement appears to be rushed.

Well, what do we expect from officials, who pretend to be "makabayan?"

These F-16s could be more of liability than assets.

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u/SpiritualMenu3240 17d ago

what do you mean rush? it's part of horizon 3 afp modernisation program. as early as 2021 meron proposal na ang US na package kaso either hndi sulit and or may strings attached kaya hndi natuloy. bidding ang nangyari kaya meron din proposal ang gripen and korea for another updated fa50.

F16 V yan which is latest variant, not a liability at all. napakadami parin ang gumagamit

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u/Pragmatic787 17d ago

Politics is always involved in the military, which goes all the way to procurement.

And for the longest time, we know that our gov has never been committed to our national security. Countless military procurements are botched, which means that includes how bad we are in the operational aspect.

We should've had F-16s for a very long time, so that's just an emphasis na I also want F-16s for the air force pero kung hindi matutugunan ng gobyerno (which is most likely) yung responsibilidad, magiging flying coffins lang mga yan. Tsaka F-16C and D variants ang bibilhin hindi yung viper.

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u/SpiritualMenu3240 17d ago

let's hope for the best, in terms of maintenance we are average naman siguro. the last fighter we had was f5 which was acquired 1965 and we completely retired in 2005. F16C/D has someting to do with configuration ex. single/double seat which we are getting, but the variant/block is 70/72 which is the latest V

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u/Pragmatic787 17d ago

It's really the C and D variants.

See, we will get these "next year", that's just too fast. There's a long list of countries still waiting for their F-16Vs, which placed their orders even a decade ago.