The Department of National Defense is already in the thick of negotiations this early for the procurement of additional Black Hawk helicopters for the Air Force along with six offshore patrol vessels for the Navy.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the projects, sought for a long time by the military, were officially pushed after funding have been appropriated for the two big ticket items under the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program.
He told military reporters on Tuesday night that P32 billion has been approved for the acquisition of additional 32 units of Blackhawk and another P30 billion for six offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).
The helicopters will be bought from the Polish company that already supplied the 16 units of Black Hawks to the Air Force, although Lorenzana clarified that there has been “no contract yet” and that the procurement is “still under negotiations.”
The Air Force took delivery last month of five Black Hawks from the same Polish firm, which comprised the last batch of its procurement of 16 units of such helicopters in an earlier but separate contract.
While all of the choppers have been delivered, one of them crashed while Air Force pilots were conducting night proficiency training in Tarlac last June.
As to the six OPVs, Lorenzana said they were negotiating with Australian ship builder Austal for their deliveries.
The Australian company maintains and operates an assembly plant in Cebu through Austal Philippines.