Defense and military officials accepted on Tuesday two brand-new NC212i planes that were ordered from Indonesia.
The two light lift fixed-wing aircraft, acquired through the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program, were formally received and blessed on Tuesday in Clark Air Base, Pampanga.
“The turnover of these two light lift fixed-wing aircraft signify the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to a level where it can more effectively and fully perform its constitutional mandate to uphold the sovereignty and preserve the patrimony of our country,” Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said during the ceremony.
“These aircraft in front of us will offer our military, the Air Force in particular, a long list of contributions in the areas of internal security operations, territorial defense and national development,” he added.
The two brand-new NC212i were delivered by Indonesia’s state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI), which won the bidding for the project in 2014.
The planes were supposed to have been delivered as early as 2015 or even last year, but the crafts encountered hitches, one of which was the manufacturer’s issue with its previous autopilot supplier.
The arrival of the two NC212i boosted the Air Force’s inventory of medium and light-lift aircraft, as it already has three C-295M planes that were manufactured by Spain’s Airbus Defense and Space.
The NC212i aircraft can be used for maritime patrol, passenger and troop transport, cargo/logistic transport, search and rescue, paratroop dropping and medical evacuation.
Compared to the previous NC212, also built by PT DI, the aircraft can carry 28 passengers and it has a digital avionic and next generation autopilot.
The aircraft is also capable of taking off and landing on unpaved runway.