Manila is considering offers to obtain 40 new aircraft for its long-running multi-role fighter acquisition.
The country’s secretary of defence Gilberto Teodoro offered the number of fighters that the country hopes to obtain during a congressional budget hearing, according to a report by Reuters.
He gave little in the way of important details, such when any decision might be made or the timeframe for any potential acquisition.
Manila’s funding challenges would require bidders to propose a package where financing could be spread out.
The Philippine air force has long been interested in obtaining new fighters. For years, the Saab Gripen and Lockheed Martin F-16 have both contended for the elusive deal.
More recently, Manila has also reached out to South Korea for information about the developmental Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21.
Gilberto reportedly said that the country needs “fast and more lethal” aircraft than the 12 KAI FA-50s that constitute its entire fast jet capability.
Forty new fighters would go some way to giving Manila a degree of credible capability as it deals with Beijing’s illegal territorial expansion in the South China Sea, which has included the development of air bases on man-made islands with striking distance of the Philippines.
