US Congress has approved Foreign Military Sale of attack helicopters to the PH

A fast and a most welcome development in the area of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization most especially to the Philippine Air Force.

In an exclusive scoop of MaxDefense Philippines, the United States of America (USA) Congress has approved the sale to the Philippines of an attack helicopter.

“has received confirmation from foreign sources: the US Congress has approved the proposed Foreign Military Sale of either the Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian, or the Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to the Philippines.”

Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian
(photo credit to owner)

“The approval was said to have been made in the last week of May 2020, and paperworks are being prepared by the US government to make this official with the Philippine government,” MaxDefense added.

Around 2 to 3 months ago the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)  said that it delivered the required certification notifying US Congress of the possible sale of either Apache or Viper to the Philippines after the US State Department has made a determination approving the possible Foreign Military Sale.

Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters
(photo credit to owner) 

However an interview with the Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana last June 3 said, “I don’t know if we can afford that now, because of this pandemic. We have [been] channeling a lot of funds to the fight against COVID-19.”

“As I have been telling the media recently, the 1.5 billion dollar, six units of Apache attack helicopter, and the 0.5 billion dollar cost of the six Viper helicopters, [are] too expensive for us,” he said. “The money that was given for purchase of attack helicopters is only 13 billion pesos, and if we buy the Apache we can only buy 1, if we buy the Viper we can only buy 2.” 

“So we are looking for other platforms that we could buy with the money we have. If we could buy six attack helicopters from other sources with the money we have, I think that would be more attractive than buying the American attack helicopters,” Lorenzana added.

What can you say about this?

Share us your thoughts by simply leaving on the comment section below. For more news updates, feel free to visit our site often.

Stay updated with today's relevant news and trends by hitting the LIKE button.

Thanks for dropping by and reading this post.

Report from mntfo

Disclaimer: Contributed articles does not reflect the view of THE PH CHRONICLES. This website cannot guarantee the legitimacy of some of the information contributed to us. You may do additional research if you find some information doubtful. No part of this article maybe reproduced without permission from this website.