TSAMTO, December 9th. The Government of the Philippines has allocated a total of 62 billion filip. pesos ($1.233 billion at the current exchange rate) for the purchase of 32 additional Polish-made S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for the country's Air Force and six maritime patrol ships (OPV) for the Navy.
Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana told the PNA news agency that financing for the acquisition of a number of major weapons, including 32 billion filip, was recently approved. pesos for the purchase of Black Hawk helicopters and 30 billion filip. pesos - for six OPV ships.
When asked where the Philippines intends to purchase additional helicopters and vessels, the minister replied that the ships will be purchased from the Australian company Austal, and the S-70i helicopters will be supplied by the Polish PZL Mielec, which is a division of Sikorsky.
Nevertheless, contracts for the supply of these systems have not yet been signed and the parties are "still negotiating."
As reported by TSAMTO, in April 2019, the Ministry of Defense of the Philippines signed a contract for the supply of 16 multi-purpose S-70i "Black Hawk" helicopters developed by Sikorsky under an intergovernmental agreement with Poland. The sale cost was about 11.5 billion filip. pesos ($241.462 billion at the exchange rate at the time of conclusion of the contract). The helicopters were assembled at the Polish company PZL Mielec.
The first six S-70is were delivered to the Philippines in November 2020. Five more helicopters were officially put into service on October 13, 2021, and the last five vehicles – on December 3, 2021. One of the six S-70is of the first batch crashed on June 24, 2021 during a night exercise.
At the beginning of 2021, Delphine Lorenzana stated that the Australian shipbuilding company Austal, which owns a shipbuilding enterprise in Balamban (Cebu Province), is the favorite in the framework of the OPV ship procurement program for the country's Navy. According to him, "the purchase of ships from this manufacturer will have a positive impact on the development of the Philippine economy." It is assumed that Austal proposed to the Philippine Navy a project based on a Cape-class patrol ship.
