TSAMTO, February 14. The US Embassy in Manila announced the February 10 ceremony of the transfer of four new Cessna-172 Skylark aircraft to the Philippine Navy Air Wing stationed at Sangley Point (Cavite Province).
The delivery was made within the framework of a grant in the amount of 298.1 million Philippine pesos ($5.8 million) provided under the Foreign Military Financing Program (FMF).
The aircraft will be used to train young naval aviation pilots, as well as to maintain the skills of active pilots and technical specialists.
The ceremony held on February 10 completed the transfer of four Cessna-172 aircraft, which were delivered and reassembled in December 2021. Before delivery, 24 Filipino pilots and mechanics were trained in Kansas City (pcs.Kansas) in August-September 2021.
The delivery package also includes spare parts and logistics support. In addition, it includes three American-made Robinson R44 helicopters, which will be delivered at the end of 2022.
According to Philippine Defense Minister Delphine Lorenzana, the transferred equipment will significantly improve the capabilities of the Philippine Navy to train naval aviation pilots to perform tasks of monitoring and protecting marine territories.
Over the past two years, the United States has provided assistance to the Philippines under the Foreign Military Financing program in the form of grants in the amount of $ 110 million (5.65 billion Philippine pesos).
In general, since 2015, the volume of US aid to the Philippines has reached $1.14 billion (57.56 billion filip. pesos), including $475.3 million under the Foreign Military Financing program and $95.3 million under the Maritime Security program. Recent major projects include the delivery of Cessna aircraft worth $5.8 million, a ScanIgl UAV worth $4 million in 2021 and $14.7 million in 2020.
