MANILA, Philippines — American defense firm Lockheed Martin said it is expecting that the US government will soon present its formal offer to the Philippines for the sale of the fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets.
The US Department of State in April approved a potential sale of 20 F-16 Block 70 multi-role aircraft to the Philippines worth $5.58 billion (P312 billion).
The US government, however, has yet to formally introduce the package to the Philippine side.
“So as far as very specific timing, that’s really up to the US government when they want to make that offer. But we do believe it’s going to be in the near future,” said Aimee Burnett, Lockheed Martin’s Vice President for Integrated Fighter Group Business Development, in a recent press briefing.
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Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said last week in a report by Defense News that the Philippines has not received a formal offer and they have yet to decide which multi-role fighter model to acquire.
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Lockheed Martin and local company INAEC signed last week a memorandum of understanding on developing in-country repair capability, said Jess Koloini, Director of Business Development at Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Fighter Group.
“That is a building block to what we know is your future aspiration of in-country indigenous capacity and repair capability,” she said.
Part of the package also includes an innovation center for aerospace workforce development and a joint development project for Indigo IV unmanned aerial systems.
Other contenders for the long-running multi-role acquisition project are Jas-39 Gripen of Sweden’s Saab and KF-21 Boramae of South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
Recent social media posts of Saab have been emphasizing the lower overall costs of its offering to the Philippines. “Gripen E offers the best value for money by combining cutting-edge technology, operational flexibility, and cost-efficiency…
Despite its high-end capabilities, Gripen E is designed for low operational costs, with a focus on ease of maintenance and long service life,” it said. Last week, the Philippines and South Korea signed a P40 billion deal for 12 FA-50 Block 70 light fighters also built by KAI. /cb