TSAMTO, October 21. As reported by the US Embassy in the Philippines, at Clark Air Base in Mabalacat City (prov. Pampanga) the official ceremony of the transfer of four Scanigl UAVs to the Philippine Air Force took place.
The event, held on October 13, was attended by Minister of National Defense Delphine Lorenzana, Commander of the Philippine Air Force Lieutenant General Allen Paredes, Charge d'affaires of the United States in the Philippines Heather Variava, Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command of the US Armed Forces Admiral John Aquilino, representatives of the United States Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) in the Philippines.
As stated, four additional SCANIGL UAVs will expand the capabilities of the Philippine Air Force to conduct intelligence and surveillance, support counter-terrorism operations, conduct humanitarian operations and provide assistance to victims of natural disasters. The cost of UAVs transferred to the US Armed Forces is 200 million Philippine pesos ($4 million).
The Philippines is by far the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the Indo-Pacific region. Since 2015, the United States has supplied the Philippines with aircraft, ships, armored vehicles, small arms and other military equipment worth more than 50.6 billion pesos ($1.06 billion).
As reported by TSAMTO, in March 2018, the US Embassy in Manila handed over the first Scanigl tank to the Philippine Air Force, which included 6 UAVs. The system is worth 687 million filip. The peso ($13.2 million) was donated to the Philippine Air Force as part of the Foreign Military Financing program.
In November 2020, the United States transferred the second Scanigl tank to the Philippine Navy as part of the American Maritime Security Initiative in Southeast Asia (MSI) in response to a request from the Philippines sent to the United States in 2017. The complex, worth 710 million pesos ($14.79 million), included eight UAVs, two launchers, a SkyHook landing system and a ground control station.
