Manila, Philippines – Washington has sent a refueling aircraft that can also carry cargo and patients for medical evacuation on a mission to the Philippines as the country grapples with persistent heavy rains for almost a week now.
The Philippine Air Force said the KC-135 Stratotanker, which is larger than the military transport aircraft C-130, carries equipment that would boost humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts.
That KC-135 provides the core aerial refuelling capability for the US Air Force, but is capable of medical transport during an evacuation situation, the US Air Force Expeditionary Center said on its website.
“The KC-135 aircraft from the US is bound for Clark Air Base bringing in HADR equipment. The aircraft is currently in Japan and it is now awaiting departure,” Maj. Richard Calma, Philippine Air Force Public Affairs Office assistant chief, told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s a little bit larger than our C130,” he said.
Clark Air Base in Pampanga is not one of the EDCA sites, a shorthand for the Philippine-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, that were activated earlier this week to augment relief efforts.
A twin-engine multipurpose W-3A SOKOL helicopter has been prepositioned also in Clark, together with over 40 air assets that are on standby, Calma said.
EDCA sites nearest storm-hit provinces, including the Cesar Basa Air Base in Pampanga, have been primed as forward operating hubs.
