I’m no military expert. Just some ramblings on my fascination with military equipment and what I hope will happen for my country’s armed forces in such challenging times.
Part two of my unsolicited game plans for the Philippine Armed Forces: the Philippine Air Force!1) The Multi-role Fighter program (MRF), why the rush?
There are reports indicating that the Philippine Air Force is set to procure honest to goodness multi-role fighters. Shortly after US forces pulled out of Clark airbase, the Philippines exited the supersonic Jet age, settling for turbo fan trainers as fighters after retiring the last of the US holdover F5 Freedom Fighters. Recently the Philippines returned to supersonic capability with brand new, non-hand me down Korean FA-50s but it appears the Air Force has its sights on bigger things.
The competition is down to 2 candidates: the US export version of the F-16 Falcon (Viper) and the Swedish Saab Gripen. Although graduating to finally having a true blue multi-role fighter after decades would be an achievement in itself and a bold step forward to upgrading our defense capabilities, I’m personally shying away from the decision to push through with such a project.. for now. Why?Well first off, we’re in the midst of a pandemic and the government is acting pretty much like its broke (it is in some sense of the word) as authorities grapple with the more important task at hand of righting the economic ship. Chucking a truck load of money to buy 12 advanced fighters may not be a priority as of the moment.
If there is a need to beef up the country’s air defense perhaps it would be wiser to divert funding for the MRF to additional squadrons of the very capable light fighter slash advanced trainer the FA-50. With $1.2 billion earmarked for the MRF acquisition, that’s easily 3 additional squadrons of FA-50.. plus change!
Having additional units of the Golden Eagle would definitely improve our Air Force capability while also making upkeep and maintenance more cost effective with regard to munitions and spare parts.
Having additional units of the Golden Eagle would definitely improve our Air Force capability while also making upkeep and maintenance more cost effective with regard to munitions and spare parts. Are there specific missions that the Air Force requires which are unable to be carried out by the FA-50? I’m guessing not really.
Sure it’s no way a true MRF and currently lacks AESA Radar and BVR capability but Korea is currently in the works to upgrade the Golden Eagles to address that issue. Furthermore, given our basic needs of forward air control and basic air defense, the FA-50 appears more than capable to do the job.
Possible options for a maritime patrol aircraft would be the C212-400 or the CN 235 Persuader to help extend the reach of patrols in the West Philippine sea. The CN235 Persuader is currently used by the Indonesian Air Force with each plane having 6 hard points to carry Exocet missiles and torpedoes. The PAF could select the C212 (pictured here) used by several armed forces around the world (Mother Spain is one of them) for maritime patrol, although the C235 version may be better give its longer range, ability to carry more arms and anti-submarine weapons with the smaller C212 likely only able to carry a modest payload. The C235 Persuader would likely cost anywhere from $24-35 million.
Sure it’s no way a true MRF and currently lacks AESA Radar and BVR capability but Korea is currently in the works to upgrade the Golden Eagles to address that issue. Furthermore, given our basic needs of forward air control and basic air defense, the FA-50 appears more than capable to do the job.
It’s like deciding between a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Toyota Fortuner. One is a full sized 4x4 SUV while the other is a medium sized SUV based on a pickup truck. The LC outclasses the Fortuner any way you look at it, except of course tag price. With PHP5.5 million pesos you can purchase 3 Fortuners or 1 Land Cruiser, and if you’re looking to build a fleet of cars, I’d rather go with more Fortuners.
The Fortuner is clearly the inferior vehicle relative to the LC400 but heck it’s not terrible. Off-road capability is limited but then again how often do you really take a drive out into some really muddy and unforgiving terrain? Likely never. Other than that, the Fortuner offers decent safety features, a more than capable 2.4 in-line 4 cylinder Diesel engine and nice enough passable faux leather cabin make it a decent and respectable choice. Same can be said of the FA50 vs the F-16 Viper or Saab Gripen.
Thus perhaps shifting money away from the more expensive MRFs to additional squadrons of light fighters and other much needed hardware will be the better option given our lack of aircraft. Don’t get me wrong, we can procure the MRFs at a later date and after we have a credible and balanced Air Force with several aces pilots who can pilot the future F16 Vipers, Saab Gripens or even the upcoming KFX Boramae of Korea set for production by 2025. When that happens, the FA50s can slide back into their LIFT role and double as light combat aircraft, acting as a second line of interceptors behind the MRFs to be procured.
2) Make the EMB 314 Super Tucson purchase an even dozen
PAF is set to take delivery of the Super Tucano this year, barring of course a delay in production as Brazil battles the pandemic (God bless Brazil). We however only purchased 6 Super Tucanos with the venerable OV-10 still making the rounds. Perhaps it’s time to retire the Bronco for good and bring in an additional 6 units of the ST in the near term. Used for close in air support and border patrols, at Php830 million per plane the Super Tucano may be a bargain given its capability to carry a wide array of weapons including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles on top of bombs. Having a full squadron of Super Tucano's will free up the existing (and future) FA50s from surface attack duties to concentrate on air defense.
Thus perhaps shifting money away from the more expensive MRFs to additional squadrons of light fighters and other much needed hardware will be the better option given our lack of aircraft. Don’t get me wrong, we can procure the MRFs at a later date and after we have a credible and balanced Air Force with several aces pilots who can pilot the future F16 Vipers, Saab Gripens or even the upcoming KFX Boramae of Korea set for production by 2025. When that happens, the FA50s can slide back into their LIFT role and double as light combat aircraft, acting as a second line of interceptors behind the MRFs to be procured.
2) Make the EMB 314 Super Tucson purchase an even dozen
PAF is set to take delivery of the Super Tucano this year, barring of course a delay in production as Brazil battles the pandemic (God bless Brazil). We however only purchased 6 Super Tucanos with the venerable OV-10 still making the rounds. Perhaps it’s time to retire the Bronco for good and bring in an additional 6 units of the ST in the near term. Used for close in air support and border patrols, at Php830 million per plane the Super Tucano may be a bargain given its capability to carry a wide array of weapons including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles on top of bombs. Having a full squadron of Super Tucano's will free up the existing (and future) FA50s from surface attack duties to concentrate on air defense.
3) A more "complete" PAF
Other avenues the Philippine Air Force can explore are the procurement of a long range maritime patrol aircraft as well as an AWACS plane to augment the current deficiencies of its stand-in fighter: the FA50. Meanwhile, the PAF can also follow through on plans to outfit aircraft with ECM packages to help offset radar deficiencies of its current fleet of light fighters. Lastly, the PAF can also procure an air tanker to extend the range of its current fleet of aircraft like the FA50.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Air Force can also invest in an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) to help augment the limited radar capability of the FA50s. The PAF can consider the C295 AEW&C version or the Saab AEW&C 340 (priced at $238 million in 2015) with the Erieye Radar employed by the Thai Royal Air Force. The C295 AEW&C route would also make sense given that PAF currently has the C295 medium transport in use so having another unit tasked and specializing as an AWACS plane would be an ideal choice.
PAF’s Flight Plan 2028 also set aside money for up to 4 ECM aircraft and an aerial tanker. The FA50 can carry ECM pods like Rafael’s Sky Shield to act as a bolt-on ECM plane while alternately, KAI is also developing a dedicated ECM model based on the Golden Eagle called the EA50. Given familiarity with the FA50 and improving relationship with Korea, purchasing at least 2 FA50s as dedicated ECM aircraft would be a probable pick.
Finally, the PAF also eyed an aerial tanker in its Flight Plan 2028 and one option would be to outfit a C295 with a refueling kit to act as aerial tanker which means that the planned tanker can double as a medium transport when not conducting refueling missions. The C130s have a similar add-on refueling kit but given the limited number of heavy transports at the PAF's disposal, it would be better to free up the big boys from tanker duty and leave it to the C295s. The PAF has 4 C295s in its fold and the PAF can opt to procure an additional unit (the K295) or simply purchase the refueling kit to save on cost.
The cherry on the top: MRFs
All of these "force multipliers" will help augment the existing fleet and capabilities of the PAF, while also keeping the budget from swelling. Once the PAF attains a more "complete" and balanced lineup, with additional light combat aircraft (FA50 and Super Tucanos), an AWACS plane, ECM aircraft and an aerial tanker, then PAF can focus on the "cherry on the top" with an acquisition of a squadron of multi-role fighters.
This table should show us how we can procure a full complement of aircraft with the $1.2 billion earmarked for the MRF program. Spreading out this budget across additional FA50s, 6 additional Super Tucanos, 2 dedicated ECM aircraft, 2 long-range patrol aircraft, an aerial tanker and an AWACS plane.
Beefing up our capabilities but still coming to terms with the fact that we’re a developing nation with limited resources should be the philosophy. Besides, I doubt we all expect our Air Force to go into a full blown war with anyone right? However at the same time I do admit we need to retain (or regain) respectability and have the ability to hit back at any potential adversary if push comes to shove. As one Senator put it, we just want to make sure that people know that we can hit back and bloody their noses if they come in to our territory.
