The Philippine air force is leaning towards a twin-engine solution to its fighter requirement, following flight evaluations of a McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18C/D and Mikoyan MiG-29.
According to local sources, the Philippines' new armed forces chief-of-staff and former air force commander, General Arnulfo Acedera, has come out in favour of a twin-engined fighter.
It is understood that the air force's selection criteria have been rewritten accordingly. This follows incursions in 1996 by the Chinese military into areas of the South China Sea Spratly Islands claimed by the Philippines.
The air force, therefore, has been placing increasing emphasis on maritime surveillance and strike, for which it considers a twin-engined aircraft better suited. The air force is showing renewed interest in the F-18C/D and recently completed a four-day evaluation of a US Marine Corps aircraft at China Lake in the USA.
The five-man team, led by Brig Gen De Los Santos, flew a range of different profile missions, including night attack with the aid of night-vision goggles. Filipino pilots have already flown the MiG-29 and single-engined Lockheed Martin F-16, which had earlier been considered the front runner.
The US Air Force has offered the Philippines a choice of new-build F-16C/Ds or surplus A/Bs and, given its limited budget, the aircraft remains an attractive low-cost alternative, say defence sources in Manila (Flight International, 16-22 October, 1996).
The air force is now expected to make a final selection by the middle of the year, following the Senate's recent long-awaited approval of the Philippine armed force's P164.5 billion ($6.25 billion) 15-year modernisation budget. Of the P50 billion allocated for the first five-year period, the air force will receive about P17 billion.
The air force needs up to 18 fighters, new radars, maritime-patrol aircraft, helicopters and transports. Defence planners hope to spread the cost of the new aircraft over the succeeding two five-year periods, possibly with the aid of commercially arranged bridge funding.
The Philippine requirement took on added urgency with the fatal crash of another Northrop Grumman F-5A/B on 6 January. Only seven of the ageing aircraft remain, just four of which were being flown, and these have now been grounded. The air force is looking for secondhand F-5s to maintain pilot proficiency until its new aircraft can be delivered.
Source: Flight International
