F-16 maker sees US making formal offer to PH for fighter jets

AFP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — American defense firm Lockheed Martin said it was expecting the US government to make a formal offer to the Philippines on the sale of fourth-generation F-16 fighter jets.

The US Department of State in April approved the potential sale of 20 F-16 Block 70 multi-role aircraft to the Philippines worth $5.58 billion. The US government, however, has yet to formally present the package to the Philippines.

“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.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said last week in a report by Defense News that the Philippines has not received a formal offer and Philippine officials have yet to decide which multi-role fighter model to acquire.

Lockheed Martin and local company INAEC signed last week a memorandum of understanding on developing repair capability for the Philippibes, 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 could also include an innovation center for aerospace workforce development and a joint development project for Indago IV unmanned aerial systems.

Other contenders for the Philippines’ 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./tsb