Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Office of the President announced on Sunday (January 3) that the Department of National Defense (DND) will acquire 93,600 rounds of 20mm ammunition for the country’s new FA-50PH fighter jets.
The Defense department will allocate P106,138,800 from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Act Trust Fund for this project.
The ammunition will be used in the modified A50 gun systems of the “Fighting Eagles.” A pre-bid conference has been set for January 6 in Camp Aguinaldo.
Aside from this, the government has also set aside P18.9 billion for the acquisition of 12 FA-50s from Korean Aersopace Industries.
The first two fighter jets arrived at Clark Air Base in Pampanga last November.
According to the Office of the President, the aircraft will act as the country’s interim fighter until the Philippines gets enough experience of operating fast jet assets and money to fund the acquisition of more capable fighter aircraft.
It added that the aircraft is capable of being fitted with air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-9 “Sidewinder” air-to-air and heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles.
“Incidentally, the FA-50 design is largely derived from the F-16 and they have many similarities: use of a single engine, speed, size, cost, and the range of weapons.”
