The Philippine air force is studying options for upgrading its ageing Northrop F-5A/Bs in the absence of adequate funding to purchase new multirole fighters.
Meanwhile, the air force is considering an offer of up to 26 Taiwanese F-5E/Fs which are being remarketed by Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation.
The air force acquired its F-5A/Bs in the mid-1960s and only a handful - some industry sources suggest as few as two or three - remain airworthy.
They do not have modern avionics such as helmet mounted sights, prompting the air force to consider an upgrade in the face of budgetary pressures.
Under long-standing plans for the modernisation of the Philippines military, the air force had planned a tender for at least one squadron of new fighters, with candidates expected to have included the Boeing F/A-18E/F, Dassault Mirage 2000, Lockheed MartinF-16C/D, RSKMiG-29 and Saab/BAE Systems Gripen.
The air force was allocated a third of the 10 billion pesos ($195 million) that president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has earmarked for armed forces improvements. The figure, announced in July, is double the amount previously set aside.
Industry sources say the air force has looked at acquiring surplus Saudi Arabian and Swiss F-5E/Fs as well as the Taiwanese aircraft.
Source: Flight International
