AFP’s Fighter Jets Amounting $468 Million Missing?

$468 Million Worth Of AFP’s Fighter Jets Missing?

The fighter jets of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) amounting $468 million were not used to fight the extremist in Marawi City, where re they now?

The siege in Marawi City is one of the most horrible types of terrorism happened in the Philippines this year. The extended gun battle between the Maute Terrorist Group and the government troops turned the entire city into a chaotic scenery.

The government forces are currently doing their best to fight the militants and to stop the sporadic firefight in the besieged city. Unfortunately, the clash in Marawi continues to worsen instead of relieving it.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) already needed to use their advanced weapons they acquire through the AFP Modernization Program, especially in fighting the extremist in the beleaguered city.

The 12 units of Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 fighting jets costing $468 million were some of the advanced weapons supposed to be utilized by the government troops to fight the terrorist group.

A Facebook user named Manny SD Lopez shared a post exposing that the Aquino administration acquired 12 units of FA-50. He also said that the fighter jets were overpriced by almost $8.8 million.

Lopez revealed that the fighter jets are amounting $38.8 million per unit. The deal with the aircraft was contracted by the Department of National Defense for the Philippine Air Force.

The same KAI FA-50 model acquired by the Republic of South Korea Air Force is costing $30 million and Indonesian Air Force acquired KAI TA-50 for $25 million per unit. He confirmed that the jets bought by Aquino administration were obviously overpriced.

Previously, President Duterte has criticized the Korean-made fighter jets by calling it as useless. Lopez said that a source from PAF revealed that the aircraft have serious technical issues that could endanger the lives of soldiers and airmen.

Here is the full story:

“WHERE ARE THE FA-50 MULTIROLE FIGHTER JETS OF THE PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE?

The Benigno C. Aquino III administration as recommended by then-Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and approved by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa acquired 12 units of Korean Aerospace Industries ( KAI ) FA-50 jet aircraft costing US$ 464-Million as among the major acquisitions of the P 170-Billion AFP Modernization Program. Many millions more were spent for munitions including missiles and bombs to hit air and land targets. The overpriced, unproven and limited production jet aircraft were advertised as Multirole Fighters ( MRF ) for air defense, ground attack and reconnaissance using air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles and precision-guided bombs. The original T-50 aircraft was designed as an advanced jet trainer following the LIFT concept.

The KAI FA-50 light fighter aircraft was advertised as capable of attacking ground targets with Maverick air-to-ground missile, JDAM and other precision bombs, guided by Israeli-made Elta EL/M-2032 radar fire control system. The features, performance envelope and combat capabilities were cited to justify the high price tag of about US$ 38.66-Million per unit as contracted by the Department of National Defense for the Philippine Air Force. However, my research indicate an overprice of around US$ 8.66-Million per unit, when compared to the acquisition price of the same KAI FA-50 model acquired by the Republic of South Korea Air Force at US$ 30-Million per unit, with the Indonesian Air Force acquisition of the KAI TA-50 model optimized for attack role at US$ 25-Million per unit with provision for technology transfer.

After PRRD criticized the Korean-made aircraft as useless and good only for fly-bys, sources from the PAF leaked serious technical issues of incompatibility/integration between the FA-50’s radar fire control system with the U.S. Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, and perhaps with the Maverick ground attack missiles, JDAM and precision guided bombs it was supposed to carry the required combat missions. After 10 days of intense fighting in Marawi, the PAF could have deployed these MRFs for precision ground attack role. So far we have witnessed only helicopters and propeller-driven SF260, OV-10 Bronco light attack aircraft doing ground attack, using unguided 70mm air-to-ground rockets, machine gun pods for strafing and conventionally dropped bombs. No precision ground attacks vs. the Maute-ASG-ISIS terrorists using radar guided AGMs and JDAMs by the KAI FA-50 light combat aircraft fleet costing US$ 464-Million! Perhaps this is the reason why DND Sec. Delfin Lorenzana went public to reveal the shortcomings faced by our soldiers fighting on the ground and pilots providing air support.

A pro-KAI FA-50 lobby group will surely crank up into action to defend/rationalize the flawed acquisition of these overpriced, unproven limited production jet trainers passed off as high-performance multirole fighters. The past DND-AFP-PAF leadership bound the national government in a lopsided contract costing the Filipino taxpayers US$ 464-Million for the overrated combat aircraft. Worst, these past officials compromised the national security of the Republic of the Philippines and the Filipino people. They are endangering the lives of our soldiers and airmen, but more so the safety of the citizenry they are duty-bound to defend. The amount involved makes the pork barrel fund anomalies look like petty cash. Is a public inquiry necessary in this regard?”

What can you say about this? Just feel free to leave your comments and reactions for this article.