TSAMTO, October 22. The Philippine Air Force is considering acquiring heavy transport helicopters as part of efforts to increase its helicopter fleet.
According to the PNA news agency, with reference to the representative of the Philippine Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Maynard Mariano, a project for the purchase of heavy transport helicopters exists and is currently being developed by technical working groups. He declined to say which manufacturers' helicopters are being considered as contenders (earlier it was reported that one of the options under consideration is the Boeing CH-47 Chinook).
At the moment, the main helicopter asset providing cargo delivery is the S-70i "Black Hawk" multipurpose helicopters.
As reported by TSAMTO, the contract for the supply of the Philippine Air Force 16 multi-purpose helicopters S-70i "Black Hawk" developed by Sikorsky was signed in April 2019.
The first six S-70is were delivered to the Philippines in November 2020, and the last five were put into service on October 13, 2021. All of them became part of the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing. One of the six S-70i helicopters of the first batch crashed on June 24, 2021 during night exercises.
Chinook is the main bidder for the purchase. The probability of acquiring Russian helicopters is low, since the Philippine authorities are afraid of falling under sanctions under the law "On Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions" (CAATSA) adopted in the United States.
