The dirty work of the opposition as against the incumbent
President seems to have made a giant stride.
Early this week the Philippines was able to signed a deal
with Canada to buy for the Philippine
Air Force sixteen (16) Bell 412EPI
combat utility helicopters worth $233.36
million. The combat utility helicopters are to be acquired from the Bell
Helicopter and Canadian Commercial Cooperation (CCC), and that said helicopters
would only be used for humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR)
operations.
Reports has come out that the Canadian government’s move to
review the deal of the sale of the helicopters following reports on human
rights violations allegedly done by the present administration of President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte. *
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| Presidential Spokesperson has also reiterated that the Bell helicopters will be primarily used for human assistance and disaster response missions (photo credit to PAF) |
“The 16 brand new
Bell 412 helicopters, which we are procuring for the Armed Forces of
Philippines, will primarily be used for the transportation of personnel and
supplies, ferrying wounded and injured soldiers, and the conduct of
humanitarian and assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations. They are
not attack or close support aircraft,” Department of National Secretary Secretary
Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement.
“While they may
be used in support of Internal Security Operations or ISO, their role is
limited to those that I mentioned. As its designation “Combat Utility
Helicopter or CUH” connotes, the Bell CUH 412 is a utility helicopter and,
contrary to what some parties mistakenly believe, its mission is to save
lives,” the defense chief added.
The DND Chief has
stressed that the Philippines is ready to acquire much needed aircraft from
other sources should the Canadian government pursues its decision not to push
through with the signed deal.
It was last Dec.
29, 2017 that Secretary Lorenzana and representatives
of Bell Helicopter and CCC signed the deal for the purchase of the helicopters
worth PHP12 billion.
The expected
delivery of the initial batch of helicopter units was supposed to start by the
first quarter of 2019 while the last batch will be handed over by the middle of
the year in 2020. *
These aircraft are fully configured and equipped with advance features, which includes an electronic engine control, a glass cockpit display system and Garmin touchscreen navigation system.
Generally, these helicopters are capable of carrying 14 passengers and flying at a maximum speed of 140 knots (around 259 kilometers), cruise speed of 122 knots (226 kilometers per hour) and a range of 402 nautical miles (745 kilometers). It is powered with an enhanced Pratt and Whitney PT6T-3D Twin Pac.
Report from PNA
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