Forging the Philippine Local Defense Industry (SRDP and R.A. 12024)

A country usually comes with a decent armed force that implements its national policy of preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its domain, while ensuring the best interest of its citizenry by securing the entire nation's land, sea, and air domain against multiple threats. And with this usually comes with investment into securing sophisticated and effective military hardware that comes from other countries that help developed and produce these tools, with instances adhering to the specifications of a military end-user.

And as the military capabilities grow, so does the desire of securing the materiel supply chain, going to the rationale that the country has its own defense industry that produces the tools that its own armed forces require. The Philippines has provided that significant step of improving its own defense industry through this important piece of legislation that will make it possible.

AS REPORTED IN THE NEWS

The assembly of the ninth (9th) Acero-class (Shaldag V) Fast Attack Interdiction Craft come as part of the Philippines' desire for Self Reliance Defense Posture.
Image screen grab from Naval Sea Systems Command video.

Self-reliance is a key for a country to improve and enhance its armed forces, without relying too much on alliances and suppliers originated from foreign countries for its defense, as the responsibility of the national government to foster and improve its local defense industry not only gives the country its capacity to sustain its logistical and production requirements in an event of a conflict, but also in bolstering its economy should its defense industry opts to export military hardware later on. 

This is the aim of the newly enacted Republic Act 12024 or the Self Reliance Defense Posture Revitalization Act, of which President Ferdinand R Marcos Jnr signed the legislation into an actual law on October 8, 2024. 

At a glance, this encourages the country to produce its military hardware of various types, supporting the Armed Forces of the Philippines with locally made weaponry, and revitalizing the country’s defense industry that contributes to its overall economic development.

The effort itself will probably face its hurdles, specifically that the Philippines itself does not have a matured industry that can produce advanced weaponry, or a defense industry that goes beyond the manufacturing of firearms and ammunition like the ones that a local company like Armscor Global Defense (formerly Arms Corporation of the Philippines) does on its core business portfolio. The law itself, from this point on, serves as a foundation for the defense industry's development.

Apparently, the enactment of the law gives preference to local companies like Armscor Global Defense in procuring military hardware, with the SRDP Revitalization Act being a complementary law to the other newly enacted legislation, which is the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) or the Republic Act 12009. As the Revised AFP Modernization Program, under the Republic Act 10349, sets into motion, there is a likelihood of local companies expressing their interest in joining this new type of industry.

Given that setting up the country’s defense industry is relatively new in the Philippine economy, it might be the chance for local industries to forge partnerships with foreign defense partners in setting up local production facilities in the country, taking the advantage of the law’s preference on locally made military hardware and materiel that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other relevant agencies needs in their respective duties and responsibilities.

On this topic, the discussion will delve more on the key salient points of the Self Reliance Defense Posture Revitalization Act, along with the reported developments that revolve around the increasing defense relationships that the Philippines have with other like-minded countries that might have this type of partnership in mind. This comes as the country’s defense capabilities are needing a boost amidst an increasing aggression by the red country in the Indo-Pacific Region.

The first point provides a summarized writeup regarding the provisions and technicalities that have included in the law, providing an insight as to the type and scope of how and what will the Philippine defense industry might look like in the succeeding years, along with perks and benefits that might have benefit any business entity that sees interest in taking part within this industry, while boosting the country’s economy that produces additional jobs for the citizenry to join and contribute in the nation’s overall development.

KEY SALIENT POINTS

The Philippine Navy's Multipurpose Attack Crafts (MPACs) counts as locally produced vessels from Propmech, in partnership with a Taiwanese entity.
File Image.

The Republic Act 12014 or the Self Reliance Defense Posture Revitalization Act introduced measures and guidelines that will help develop and enhance the local Philippine defense industry, particularly with the salient provisions that have come with the legislation and enactment of this law for implementation. 

Each of the provisions at hand comes with a range of benefits and organizational structures in hand, all aiming to have a guiding principle for the country to develop and mature its own defense production.

First key salient point is the establishment of the Office of the Undersecretary for Defense Technology Research and Industry Development or ‘DTRID’ under Sections 4 and 5, an attached unit within the Department of National Defense that has the responsibility to the full implementation of the Republic Act 12014, and the compliance of any deals, plans, programs, and development partnerships under the Self Reliance Defense Posture arrangement. More emphasis on this office’s scope on the next sub-topic.

The second key salient point is on the National Defense Industry under Section 6 of the law, of which it clearly expresses the government’s role in supporting and developing the country’s defense industry with the following provisions, such as giving local companies preference on both procurement and technical support on research and development, together with securing foreign-sourced materials if the same is not available in the country. This provision and the next one emphasize the need for tech transfers.

The next provision, under Section 7 of the law, points to the Self-Reliance Defense Posture program itself, of which the promotion of the technology transfer gets highly emphasized, along with the development and securing the country’s access on resilient supply chains of highly essential and critical technologies necessary for its defense industry to flourish. Development and modernization of government arsenal, military bases, camps, and shipyards, come included in this law as a complementary measure, compatible with the measures and provisions of the Revised AFP Modernization Program or R.A. 10349.

This means that private entities, particularly with foreign technologies not available in the country, might go into development partnerships later on, effectively providing technology transfer that enables these local companies to supply the same to the end-user like the Department of National Defense, using local production facilities and Filipino workforce to accomplish a defense materiel contract while contributing to the economic well-being of this employed workforce and the economy at-large.

There are more provisions on this law that might help the country develop its own technology, through the Section 9 or the Development of Technology and Systems to Counter Unconventional Threats that address CBRNE and cybersecurity matters, Section 10 that addresses emerging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced military equipment, and Section 11 for securing military and defense-related technology patents through the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) property lane.

In the salient points presented come the required guidelines that enable the efforts of establishing and improving the Self Reliance Defense Posture or SRDP efforts of the government even more significant, particularly with the interest groups and current bilateral defense relationships that the Philippine government has with other countries might enable to give a bit of support, particularly in areas that will help improve the capabilities of the Philippine Armed Forces and the local defense industry at-large.

DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT (DTRID) OFFICE

At one point, Austal shipbuilding promoted its Offshore Patrol Vessels with local production perks, which should be an advantage for Self Reliance Defense Posture efforts.
From Austal.

One crucial provision for enforcing the Self Reliance Defense Posture Revitalization Act is the establishment of the Defense Technology Research and Industry Development or DTRID Office, itself being a unit under the Department of National Defense. At a glance, this will probably be the Philippine equivalent to the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration or DAPA, or the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA.

Responsible to the enforcement and monitoring of its application in military and defense-related industrial development, the Office of the Undersecretary of the DTRID, under the Section 5 of the law, has the function that ranges from adopting a defense policy in establishing defense stockpiles to sustain defense operations during the state of emergency which is pertaining to storing ammunitions (Section 5-A), to an advisory recommendation on policies dealing with the National Defense Industry (Section 5-H).

One important highlight of the office’s duties and responsibilities as stipulated in the law’s own provisions is the promotion of having Technology Transfer for local industrial production purposes. This means that any acquisition project that the Philippine military pushes in the upcoming years under the Revised AFP Modernization Program might need this provision that prompts foreign suppliers to comply, which is ideal if the deal comes with bulk orders that takes the economies of scale into consideration.

As a formulator and implementer of the policies within the scope of the Self Reliance Defense Posture Revitalization Act, the DTRID office will be the one who will craft and implement the Implementing Rules and Regulations or IRR of this law, providing the sets of guidelines and provisions that will set direction and limitation for any future defense industrial development that may partake for the country’s burgeoning defense acquisition and industrial efforts.

Of course, the guidelines set by the Office of the Undersecretary of the Defense Technology Research And Industry Development will need to align with other established laws, such as the Republic Act No. 11293 or the "Philippine Innovation Act," along with the provisions set under the Revised AFP Modernization Program or the Republic Act No. 10349 as part of its ongoing efforts to modernize and enhance its overall capabilities into the current standards.

Aside from promoting Tech Transfers and partnerships on research and development, DTRID also promotes the idea of exporting locally made materiel overseas, especially if the Philippine Defense Industry itself gets matured through time through the full supervision and monitoring of the office. 

While the idea is currently far-fetched from the time this writeup gets published, the guidelines provided give precedent that enables the future Philippine Defense Industry to get a significant portion of the global defense market.

With the establishment of the Defense Technology Research and Industry Development Office as an attached unit of the Department of National Defense, the Self-Reliance Defense Posture efforts will now have an office that oversees, monitors, and promotes the local production, research, development, and eventually the export of defense materiel made in the Philippines, while nourishing and improving the Philippine Defense Industry as one key field of the country’s economy, alongside agriculture and office services.

SRDP ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PROPOSALS

Isuzu Philippines, F. Cura Industries, and FMC Motors, will provide locally produced light carriers for the Philippine Army's own requirements. 
Image from Overland Kings, Instagram.

In this portion of the article that discusses the Self Reliance Defense Posture efforts of the Philippine government through the Department of National Defense regarding the country’s local production of military hardware intended to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other relevant agencies, the points will delve more on the recent accomplishments, reports, plans, and programs that aims to achieve the vision that the Republic Act 12024 tries to achieve.

One recent development is the presentation of a Troop Carrier Light Truck concept likely for the Philippine Army’s use, of which the winning bidder for this project is a partnership of local business entities between Isuzu Philippines, FMC Trucks, and F. Cura Industries. 

There is a likelihood that under the new SRDP law, this partnership will get the preferential treatment in awarding of contracts, which will help the Armed Forces of the Philippines improve its capabilities with locally produced military materiel.

The advantage of securing orders from local business entities like the partnership aforementioned is with the readiness and availability of spare parts for the continuous repair and maintenance support of the military hardware such as a local Troop Carrier Light Truck derived from Isuzu’s N-series of trucks, in which all of its components can get locally sourced, with commonality shared with the civilian version of the trucks commonly seen traversing on Philippine roads.

Another development relating to Self Reliance Defense Posture efforts is on the local production and assembly of the Acero-class Fast Attack Interdiction Crafts - Missile (FAIC-M) vessels of the Philippine Navy, whereby the final units produced under the first batch got locally produced in the service branch’s Cavite Yard. There is a likelihood that the plans for the next batch of the Israeli-developed fast attack interdiction crafts will also have its production done in the country.

The local production of the Philippine Navy’s Acero-class Fast Attack Interdiction Crafts - Missile (FAIC-M) vessels, of which being the country’s derivative of the Shaldag V patrol vessels marketed by Israel Shipyards Limited, come as one of an excellent example for the country’s Self Reliance Defense Posture efforts, of which the contract for the first batch of vessels come with the provision for the Technology Transfer that enabled the Cavite Yard arrangements on production and assembly of future FAIC-M vessel orders.

Another example is with the Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation or PADC, whereby they locally assemble the RV-10 and RV-12 aircraft, primarily catering to local flying schools that will hone local pilots into having the skills in flying, taking off, and landing an aircraft. 

With this development, there is the likelihood that this might expand into providing the same to government agencies like the Philippine Armed Forces and the Philippine Coast Guard, both to train their pilots and for extra surveillance operations.

The three (3) presented examples are a clear evidence of an ongoing effort related to the Self Reliance Defense Posture or SRDP, especially now that the law related to this posture has now enacted and will probably receive added support in the upcoming years along with the ongoing efforts relating to the Revised AFP Modernization Program. This means that the overall push to have a matured Philippine Defense Industry is in the right direction, eventually helping the Philippine military source its hardware locally.

LOOKING FORWARD

The BRP Tagbanua LC-296 (image above) is a locally produced Philippine Navy ship.
(c) Philippine Fleet.

Upon the enactment of the Self Reliance Defense Posture Revitalization Act or the Republic Act 12024, the Philippine Defense Industry sees a chance to have a head start with the law being its foundation, which will eventually promote and fostering the local research, development, and production of military materials that is proudly made in the Philippines. It aims to improve the country’s military capabilities, while bolstering a portion of its economy and providing sufficient jobs to the local citizenry.

Local Philippine firms and joint development partnerships are sprouting from the prospect of improving the country’s own defense industry, where countries like Japan aims to establish a comprehensive framework that not only enables them to export military materiel to the Philippines to improve the capabilities of the country’s armed forces, but also in helping the country improving its defense industry, addressing the limitations stipulated by Japan’s law on defense exports.

As the law complements the guidelines and provisions pushed by both the Revised AFP Modernization Program or the Republic Act 10349, and the New Government Procurement Act or the Republic Act 12009, there might be a likely trend that the future acquisition projects of each branch belonging to the Armed Forces of the Philippines will include provisions that mentions Technology Transfer or local production of military hardware, both are primary aims of the newly enacted law.

With the preference pointing to local companies, this might encourage other local firms to secure a joint venture with foreign defense entities to secure a contract with the Armed Forces of the Philippines at a certain project, both aiming to get the needed tools and materiel that the country has, while the locally sourced one's gets integrated on the final product that a local company makes according to the specifications as part of the requirements pushed by the end-user.

Through the years, the Philippines always has the potential to foster and improve its Self Reliance Defense Posture even before the enactment that will set this effort into an official government policy, especially with the endeavors accomplished by various local entities in the past. 

One notable example was with the Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation’s license production of Norman Britten Islander Aircraft for various government entities like the Philippine Coast Guard.

Then there’s the recent accomplishment that have not mentioned in this writeup that will add to the displayed potential for an improved and matured Philippine Defense Industry, such as the Philippine Navy’s BUHAWI Project for an automated gun mount or a Remote-Controlled Weapons System or RCWS, or the success brought by production of the largest locally produced naval asset that serves the service branch to date, which is the BRP Tagbanua (LC-296, see image above).

Ultimately, the enactment of the Republic Act 12024 provides a promising future for the efforts revolving around the Self Reliance Defense Posture as pushed by the Department of National Defense, as a growing Philippine Defense Industry will decrease the country’s reliance from importing foreign-made military hardware in the country, while assuring its tip-top shape performance with a robust facility on maintaining and repair the purchased platforms, while having an ensured logistics chain of its own.

(c) 2025 PDA.

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HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Philippine Coast Guard Offers on ADAS 2024

In the recently concluded Asian Defense And Security Exhibition or ADAS 2024 that held from September 25 to 28, 2024, various military and defense companies are pitching their recent defense technology and upping their respective offers, hoping to secure a significant chunk of the Philippine defense market, whether it may be the one belonging to the Armed Forces of the Philippines or with other relevant agencies such as the Philippine National Police or the Philippine Coast Guard.

This topic go separately to the previously crafted entry for a possible HDP-2200 Offshore Patrol Vessel offer for the Philippine Coast Guard, as the booth of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries now presents multiple vessel solutions that the maritime law enforcement agency might need, from small vessels similar in size to the Parola-class Multirole Response Vessels, to gigantic ones that can counter the Chinese monster ships and can stay for months at contested areas like the Escoda Shoal.

HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES IN ADAS 2024

Scale model designs of different vessel options provided by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Philippine Coast Guard during the Asian Defense And Security Exhibition or ADAS 2024.
Image from Department of National Defense.

The 2024 Asian Defense And Security (ADAS) exhibition that took place in the World Trade Center convention hall on September 25-27 presented opportunities for the defense industries and companies to present their respective product lines and scale models, while presenting the vision that they have in taking part in the Philippine defense establishment’s enlarged push to improve its overall capabilities in the name of national defense and security.

Each defense industry that aims to secure the ever-growing Philippine defense market set up their respective booths in the exhibition, notably among companies that are actively taking part in some of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization-related acquisition projects. Some of the defense firms involved already delivered goods to a certain project of the Philippine Military, now actively taking part in expanding their business in the local defense market.

Among those who took part in the ADAS 2024 Exhibition is the South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, whereby they fielded various scale model designs of different ships that cater to both the needs of the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard. 

Their offer to the former is a given, since the South Korean shipbuilder took part in the first Frigate Acquisition Project, the Corvette Acquisition Project, and the Offshore Patrol Vessel Acquisition Project.

The three projects are now what define the Jose Rizal-class Frigates, Miguel Malvar-class frigates (now bearing the FFG designation after getting an initial FF designation during the launch of BRP Miguel Malvar FFG/FF-06), and the HDP-2200+ Offshore Patrol Vessels, totaling at least ten (10) vessels delivered upon completion of all units from the time this writeup has published. This might increase further to twelve (12) units as the second Frigate Acquisition Project is getting likely to be another HD Hyundai preference.

As for their offer to the latter, the Philippine Coast Guard has a promising prospect of expanding its fleet further, especially with its crucial role in deterring against the provocative and intrusive China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia that illegally entering the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippine Sea, while challenging the Philippines legal control into areas rightfully part of the country such as the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and the Kalayaan Island Group.

The South Korean shipbuilder presented a wider array of shipping solutions that the Philippine Coast Guard might consider, although this might also mean countering the current preference of the maritime law enforcement agency leaning on the Japanese built vessels. 

Currently, the Philippine Coast Guard has at least ten (10) 44-meter Parola-class Multirole Response Vessels or MRRVs and two (2) 97-meter Teresa Magbanua-class Multirole Response Vessels, with five (5) more coming on its way to the country.

In this writeup, the only focus is on the different scale model ship designs that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries displayed during the ADAS 2024 Exhibition for the Philippine Coast Guard, as the ones presented for the Philippine Navy will come as an entirely different topic, with its own set of discussion and other details to cover. Ultimately, the premise will provide the size and capability of each model presented, correlating to the plans of the Philippine Coast Guard for its fleet expansion.

THE PRESENTED PRODUCT LINE

In the scale models presented by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in its podium during the 2024 Asian Defense And Security Exhibition, the following ones that sport the Philippine Coast Guard colors will be the one that will delve into in this part of the discussion, with each vessels come with various shapes and sizes, ranging from the smaller vessels weighing 500 tons to the large 4,000 ton vessels. 

Each scale model presented has its marketing points for the Philippine Coast Guard might consider for its capability.

1. HDP-500

The HDP-500 come as the smallest one offered by the South Korean shipbuilder.
(c) Frances Mangosing, X (formerly Twitter).

The smallest among the designs offered by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in this exhibition for the Philippine Coast Guard, its size is actually larger than the 44-meter Parola-class Multirole Response Vessels that the maritime law enforcement bought from Japan through a financial line provided through the Official Development Aid Loan. Coming at 55 meters long, the HDP-500 design provides some extra space for the Philippine Coast Guard’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAV, if it needs one to deploy.

Other information presented for this ship is that it comes with the weight of 570 tons and a maximum speed of twenty-four (24) knots, sufficient for its performance in the high seas particularly if it goes for a tit for tat chase between the white hulls deployed by both China and the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea. Compared to the Parola-class MRRVs, the HDP-500 comes slower by only one (1) knot, although the significant size gain might give added space for additional improvement on the Philippine Coast Guard capabilities for both accommodation and added subcomponents onboard.

Completing the details, the Parola-class Multirole Response Vessels that are currently serving the Philippine Coast Guard also comes as lighter compared to the HD-500 patrol vessel design of the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in terms of tonnage, as the former comes at around 321 tons or 249 tons lighter than what the South Korean white hull ship design comes in mind. Given a larger size while having a small variance on speed, this vessel might be worth a consideration for the agency’s aims for an expanded fleet.

2. HDP-1500

The HDP-1500 Offshore Patrol Vessel originally come as an offer to the Philippine Navy's project for its own Offshore Patrol Vessels.
(c) Frances Mangosing, X (formerly Twitter).

The next on the list is a vessel that is at one point offered to the Philippine Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessel Acquisition Project, although this gets eventually increased in tonnage and its hull stretched out that is now become a separate design of its own being the HDP-2200+ Offshore Patrol Vessel. Despite the change, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries still keep this design, in which it looks forward to that agencies like the Philippine Coast Guard might consider it for their respective requirements.

Coming at around eighty-one (81) meters long, 1,700 tons, and the speed of around twenty-four (24) knots, the HDP-1500 comes as shorter to the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Gabriela Silang (OPV-8301), the eighty-three (83) meter vessel that the maritime law enforcement agency bought from France’s OCEA, and is also currently the largest aluminum-hulled vessel that the agency operates at present. Having an aluminum hull, the BRP Gabriela Silang is likely lighter compared to the steel-based hull of the HDP-1500 ship design, although the speed of the French-made ship varies from 20 to 30 knots.

Additional information for this ship includes having a beam of 13.1 meters and a draught of 3.5 meters, although its endurance and range might go higher than 28 days and 5,500 nautical miles, respectively, given that the specifications provided are for the Philippine Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessel purposes. The variance has the onboard subcomponents into consideration, especially that the Philippine Coast Guard vessels do not come with weapons that usually come with the Philippine Navy’s own requirements.

3. HDP-2200

The HDP-2200 Offshore Patrol Vessel design is actually the likely preferred design for the Philippine Coast Guard's own white hull requirements.
(c) Frances Mangosing, X (formerly Twitter).

This following ship in the list is also the one that might likely be the design that gets offered to the Philippine Coast Guard from the South Korean shipbuilder, citing that it shares similar design commonality and logistical chains with the Offshore Patrol Vessels currently produced for the Philippine Navy’s own requirements. Apparently, the one offered to the Philippine Coast Guard is a slight derivative of the design provided for the Philippine Navy, with the former likely having a helicopter hangar accommodation.

As this go similarly to the Offshore Patrol Vessel design of the Philippine Navy with slight variations, its specifications go with the following information - it has a weight displacement of 2,450 tons, overall length of 94.4 meters, beam of 14.3 meters, draught of 3.7 meters, speed of 22 knots, range of 5,500 nautical miles, and the maximum endurance of 30 knots. This is slightly smaller than the Teresa Magbanua-class Multirole Response Vessels that the Philippine Coast Guard bought from Japan through an Official Development Aid (soft loan) arrangement, although the South Korean design has an expanded range compared to the 4,000 nautical miles that the current flagship have.

Among the scale model designs offered, the HDP-2200 stands as a greater chance for the Philippine Coast Guard to consider, particularly that it may improve commonality, interoperability, and spare parts logistics chain with their counterparts in the Philippine Navy. This means that it encourages subject exchanges and training between the personnel of both the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard, while simplifying the learning curve on the vessel’s operation in the high seas.

4. HDP-3300

This scale model has a main gun that large South Korean Coast Guard vessels usually have.
(c) Frances Mangosing, X (formerly Twitter).

The following vessel design presented here has its specifications go beyond the current flagships of the Philippine Coast Guard and goes on par with the Philippine Navy’s Jose Rizal-class frigate in terms of its size, and Miguel Malvar-class frigate in terms of its tonnage. It shares some design attributes with both the HDP-1500 and the HDP-2200 offshore patrol vessel design, with this design getting a full Coast Guard cutter treatment with having a main gun onboard that Chinese and United States CG vessels have.

Having a size of at least 106 meters long, weight displacement of 3,300 tons, and speed of around 24 knots, the HDP-3300 vessel design that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries presented to the Philippine Coast Guard comes a meter short to the Jose Rizal-class frigates’ 107-meter long hull (overall), while being having one hundred (100) tons heavier than the Miguel Malvar-class frigates’ 3,200 tons weight displacement. Compared to the first three (3) designs, it bears more weapons aside from the mentioned main gun.

The size of this ship, along with its armaments, can help the Philippine Coast Guard expand its capabilities and prolonged presence in areas like the West Philippine Sea, although this modification might come without the armaments like a main gun. This comes as the HDP-2200 design for the Philippine Coast Guard lacks the 76mm main gun armament that the Philippine Navy Offshore Patrol Vessels have, clearly signifying the difference on the mandates of both maritime entities of the Philippine government.

5. HDP-5500

The HDP-5500 can provide expanded deployment that the Philippine Coast Guard needs in areas like the West Philippine Sea.
(c) Frances Mangosing, X (formerly Twitter).

Completing the list is the largest ship that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries presented in its scale model design, one in which can help the Philippine Coast Guard counter the largest Coast Guard vessel that China has fielded in the West Philippine Sea and the broader South China Sea area in recent times. Its size can also double as the primary ship that the Philippine Coast Guard needs in prolonged deployment in the West Philippine Sea, in a manner it has done with the BRP Teresa Magbanua in Escoda Shoal for months.

The HDP-5500 coast guard vessel design comes with the following specifications - it has the size of around 140 meters long, 5,500 tons, and has a speed of around 25 knots. There is no substantiated information about its crew capacity, its beam and draught, or its range and endurance, but the scale model presented makes this a vessel capable of providing near-permanent presence in the West Philippine Sea, but still less ideal than constructing and installing permanent structures and outposts in areas near or around Kalayaan Island Group and Panatag Shoal.

For comparison, the Chinese Cutter “Nansha”, the monster ship that the Philippine media reports and also calls by its hull number CCG-5907, comes with its displacement of around 12,000 tons, basically more than twice than what HDP-5500 presents for the Philippine Coast Guard. Also, the size of the Chinese monster ship’s hull comes at around 164.89 meters, or at least 24.89 meters longer than the South Korean design. Finally, this vessel’s deployment in the West Philippine Sea might give this vessel design a consideration.

IN SUMMARY

The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has unveiled the scale model of the HDP-2200 Offshore Patrol Vessel design with the Philippine Coast Guard insignia during the Korea Ocean Expo (KOE) 2024.
Image Source.

The presentation of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Philippine Coast Guard on its booth during the 2024 Asian Defense and Security or ADAS Exhibition highlights its desire to take part with the maritime law enforcement agency’s ongoing modernization push, particularly with the number of white hulls it pursues in the upcoming years. The number of scale model designs presented gives a wide range of options that the Philippine Coast Guard may choose to expand its present capabilities.

From the small HDP-500 vessel design to the largest HDP-5500 design that helps counter the Chinese monster ship mooring in the West Philippine Sea for prolonged deployment, the South Korean shipbuilder provided its ships portfolio as an attempt to enter the Philippine Coast Guard’s own fleet market, in a way that it succeedingly get the significant portion of the Philippine Navy’s own fleet requirements by producing the orders booked for frigates, offshore patrol vessels, and guided missile frigates (corvettes).

One important salient feature that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries market to the Philippine Coast Guard is on interoperability and streamlined spare parts hulk with their counterparts in the Philippine Navy, as this is how they market the HDP-2200 Offshore Patrol Vessel design for the maritime law enforcement agency to consider. Should this option get considered, there will be an effective commonality in skills and maintenance between both entities in getting this type of vessel design.

While this South Korean shipbuilder has promising prospects in selling the ship designs for the Philippine Coast Guard to consider, there are still obstacles for them to achieve or secure a portion of the maritime law enforcement agency’s fleet composition. One highlight is the Philippine Coast Guard’s preference for French and Japanese-made vessels, with the latter comprising the bulk of the agency’s operating white hulls such as the Parola-class and Teresa Magbanua-class Multirole Response Vessels (MRRVs).

The preference also comes that the projects mentioned for the two (2) aforementioned Multirole Response Vessel class made in Japan have purchased through the Official Development Aid loan, making it difficult for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to market its ships to the Philippine Coast Guard unless if it has the backing of any soft loan or financing facility equivalent from the South Korean government in order for their offers to get enticing for the maritime agency to consider.

It remains to see the extent of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ extent into marketing its ship designs for the Philippine Coast Guard for consideration, as the competition is stiff into securing contracts in this agency that is predominantly composed of French and Japanese white hulls, both of which came with soft loans and lessening financial stress in mind. Still, the designs presented by the South Korean shipbuilder provide a promising prospect that its decision makers might consider later on. 

Ultimately, all the ships that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries presented in ADAS 2024 do not only presented their likely offers that the Philippine Coast Guard might consider, but also the continuous partnership that they have with the Philippine Navy, in which it has the chance of getting expanded with their offers particularly with the naval service branch of the Philippine military’s plan to buy additional full complement frigates. All designs presented help the Philippines improve its own maritime domain awareness.

(c) 2025 PDA.

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Additional A-29 Super Tucano for the Philippine Air Force?

Adding more aircraft on top of existing ones is usually a logical move from a logistics standpoint, as organizations like the Philippine Air Force streamline its fleet of aircraft that it benefits the service branch at both the spare parts support and commonality standpoint. 

This report encompasses the desire of the service branch to expand its number to at least a squadron of close air support aircraft, which means a lot for ensuring that capabilities maintain while the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines expand its firepower capacity further.

AS PROVIDED IN THE NEWS

The Philippine Air Force aims to get six (6) more A-29 Super Tucanos, totalling the number of aircraft to twelve (12) units or a squadron of such aircraft.
Image Source.

At the turn of another year, the Philippine Air Force ended the year 2024 with the decommissioning several of its OV-10 Broncos and the remaining AH-1S Cobra that it received from Jordan through a donation made in 2019. 

Initially, speculations in the defense community make it worrying that the decommissioned aircraft will not come with replacements that will keep the Philippine Air Force’s close air support capabilities, which eventually turns out that this will not be the case.

In the same day that the decommissioning ceremony has conducted by the Philippine Air Force, the announcement also came out that the air service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines opt to purchase six (6) additional A-29 Super Tucano close air support aircraft from Brazil’s Embraer in a way to replace the aircraft decommissioned. It comes with further assurance from the Brazilian aerospace firm, with their own release regarding the contract signing of that similar number of Super Tucano orders.

In the same release made by Embraer, the projected delivery date of the Super Tucano close air support aircraft from the signing of the contract will take place by year 2026, or at least one and a half (½) to two (2) years, given that the Brazilian aerospace firm also faces order backlogs from orders made by other countries. The backlogs highlighted the success of the aircraft for export to various countries’ air forces, with the 2026 delivery date giving assurance that there will not be much waiting time.

For context, the Philippine Air Force operate at least six (6) units of the Super Tucano aircraft, of which this order will render the service branch at least twelve (12) units or what will be a squadron of close air support aircraft that simplifies logistical chains and commonality of its operations for pilots to use in their respective mission requirements. Add to this is any likelihood of capability upgrade that might come with this sale of aircraft that the Philippine Air Force will get from the Brazilian aerospace firm.

As the discussion for the platform itself has already covered in this website, more of the details for this entry will entail more on this project’s detail through the recently released Procurement Monitoring Review that the Department of National Defense released for the Second (2nd) half of 2024, the number of OV-10 Broncos and AH-1S Cobra helicopters decommissioned, and the upgrades that the Super Tucano will probably receive through this sale.

AS PROVIDED IN THE PROCUREMENT MONITORING REVIEW

The bids and awards committee of the Department of National Defense regards the additional A-29 Super Tucano of the Philippine Air Force as 'completed'.
Image Source.

The Department of National Defense typically releases its Procurement Monitoring Report as part of a government transparency initiative mandated for agencies to post their accomplishments on their website, of which it gives the glimpse of projects that are both completed and have the procurement process still ongoing. This project is available on the DND Bids and Awards Committee 2 Procurement Monitoring Report encompassing the 2nd half of 2024, as of January 10, 2025.

In the completed procurement activities, the first of the list is the Philippine Air Force’s Additional Close Air Support Aircraft Project, of which this is the official name for the additional A-29 Super Tucano close air support aircraft that got a contract signed recently. 

The mode of procurement is through Direct Contracting, which is justified under the New Government Procurement Act or the Republic Act 12009 for follow-on orders of assets already serving the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

It took the Department of National Defense’ Bids and Awards Committee 2 to accomplish the entire procurement process at least three (3) months to complete, whereby the Pre-Procurement Conference took place on October 23, 2024, then the Letter of Invitation to Bid posting on November 28, 2024. This keeps ongoing through the Eligibility and Opening of Bids, all took place on December 2. Finally, issuing of the Notice of Award (NOA) for the project took place on December 19, with the contract signed between the Department of National Defense and Embraer taking place in the final week of December.

Going further, the budget for the contract as provided in the Procurement Monitoring Report for the additional Super Tucano close air support aircraft amounts to around Php 6,596,782,750.00 (Php 6.597 Billion), which is higher than the contract price provided for the first batch of six (6) Super Tucano close air support aircraft that the Philippine Air Force ordered from Embraer amounting to Php 4,872,598,000.00 (Php 4.873 Billion). This reflects the inflation and likely the upgrades that get incorporated into the new orders.

The following discussion entails primarily to the overall composition of the Super Tucano close air support aircraft that the Philippine Air Force might have upon its completion of delivery, along with developments as of the time this article published regarding the expanding number of entities and air forces that operates the Brazilian-made aircraft, and ultimately, the upgrades that might likely come with this batch of aircraft that might come as lacking on the previously ordered batch of aircraft.

TOTAL COMPOSITION AND POTENTIAL UPGRADES

Rafael Advanced Systems Limited presents the Icebreaker anti-ship missile, a game-changing munition that may enhance the Super Tucano aircraft's capability.
A screen grab from a Rafael Advanced Systems video presentation.

Upon the completion of the delivery of at least six (6) A-29 Super Tucano close air support aircraft to the Philippine Air Force, the air service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines will end up having at least twelve (12) units or a single squadron of close air support aircraft that counts as useful against counterinsurgency threats and future territorial-based threats against the country. Since the delivery of the first six (6) aircraft, the Super Tucano itself came with an introductory upgrade to its capabilities.

Case in point, the Brazilian Armed Forces started an upgrade program that will improve the capability of its Super Tucano close air support aircraft, which includes new electro-optical sensors, reinforced armor, and self protection threats against missile threats. 

Their upgrades came on top of their integrated cockpit with Wide-Angle Display or WAD interface that comes similarly to the Brazilian JAS-39 Gripen E/F fighter aircraft, along with advanced networking integration with the Swedish-developed fighter jet.

One significant thing to check on is the newly developed multi-domain missile solution provided by the Israeli defense company Rafael, which is the ‘IceBreaker’ precision-guided anti-ship missile munition. Suitable for light attack aircraft such as the Super Tucano close air support aircraft, the IceBreaker anti-ship missile will enable the Brazilian produced aircraft to have territorial defense capabilities, especially now that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is shifting into this domain of primary concern.

The missile munition developed and unveiled by Rafael will further expand the firepower capabilities of the Super Tucano close air support aircraft of the Philippine Air Force, particularly that the air service branch now is on its way to secure at least six (6) additional aircraft to form a squadron of this platform in its inventory. 

This enables the Philippine Air Force to use the aircraft for both close air support and territorial defense operations, with the latter augmenting coastal defense systems and missile systems onboard naval vessels.

As these upgrades for the Super Tucano already taking up accordingly by various entities like the Brazilian Air Force, this path might be worthy for the Philippine Air Force to consider, especially that it will maximize further the utility of its close air support aircraft to conduct and undertake mission objectives that this aircraft will come as a better option to provide on. Also, this capability might surpass the ones that the air service branch decommissioned recently out of service.

15TH STRIKE WING’S RECENTLY DECOMMISSIONED ASSETS

On 28 December 2024, the Philippine Air Force decommissioned both the OV-10 Bronco and the AH-1S Cobra Attack Helicopter, serving the organization for one last time.
Image Source.

In the final weeks of December 2024, the Philippine Air Force opted to decommission both of its OV-10 Bronco close air support aircraft and the remaining donated AH-1S Cobra Attack Helicopter from Jordan, citing sustainability costs and reduced availability of spare parts to maintain and operate both platforms. 

This put both platform’s service with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to a close, enabling newer aircraft such as the T-129 ‘Atak’ Attack Helicopters from Turkey and Super Tucanos to take over.

It put an end to the decades worth of service for the several decommissioned OV-10 Bronco close air support aircraft that have started in the 1990s when it replaced the North American T-28 Trojan aircraft that came before it, and the purchase of the additional A-29 Super Tucano close air support aircraft from Brazil simply serve as the continuation of developing change on such aircraft in the Philippine Air Force’s inventory. This comes as the modernization efforts enable it to purchase newer military hardware.

The decommissioning ceremony also put an end to the AH-1S Cobra Attack Helicopters of the Philippine Air Force, of which it only served at least five (5) years in service within this military branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Donated by Jordan, it provided a transitory platform for the pilots to get experience in operating a dedicated attack helicopter, until the first batch delivery of the T-129 ‘Atak’ Attack Helicopters from Turkey took place in the year 2022.

It is worth to note the track record that the decommissioned aircraft had when it went in service with the Philippine Air Force, particularly with the OV-10 Bronco and its multiple sorties against both the communist and Moro separatist threats scattered across the country. 

One notable example is with its performance in the 2017 Marawi Siege, of which its pilot’s precision strike capability proves to be an effective strategy to eliminate the threat posed by the occupying Islamic radicals in the city.

Overall, this signifies the change reflected by an ongoing modernization process that affects all branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which includes the Philippine Air Force. 

It points to a constant improvement of capabilities and the purchase of newer military aircraft comes with an ease of maintenance for the personnel that are taking care of the country’s military platforms, as its current production provide access to spare parts and operability that ensure its prolonged service within the military.

ENDING NOTE

The Philippine Air Force sees the Super Tucano CAS as the future of a close air support capability platform.
From David Branco Filho, Flickr.

The Philippine Air Force, upon the completion of at least six (6) more A-29 Super Tucano Close Air Support Aircraft under the acquisition project that calls for more aircraft of such type, the service branch will probably end up having at least a squadron of the Brazilian-made platform that will replace the recently decommissioned aircraft such as the OV-10 Bronco aircraft and the AH-1S Cobra Attack Helicopters. This means that there will not be any reduction in the 15th Strike Wing’s overall capabilities.

In the acquisition project for additional Super Tucano aircraft, one thing to point out is the fast pace of the entire process, something that the defense community of the Philippines look forward to in other acquisition projects of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, especially the ones earmarked under the 2025 General Appropriations Act. 

Notable projects aimed under this year are the Frigate Acquisition Project - full complement, additional FA-50 light fighter trainer aircraft, and AFP cybersecurity upgrades.

The fast pace of the procurement process is likely getting faster upon the full implementation of the New Government Procurement Act or the Republic Act 12009 by government agencies including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, especially once the newly crafted Implementing Rules and Regulations or IRR sets into place by the GPBB or the Government Procurement Policy Board. This enables the Philippine military to fast-track its military projects, significantly improving its badly needed capabilities in a short time.

After serving beyond three (3) decades of serving the Philippine Air Force, several of the iconic OV-10 Bronco close air support aircraft will now lay into rest, ending an era that it was the mainstay close air support aircraft of the service branch’s 15th Strike Wing. 

The time has now come that a newer aircraft will come in, and the fleet of A-29 Super Tucano close air support aircraft now becomes the spiritual successor of the OV-10 Bronco, in a manner that the latter replaced the T-28 Trojan aircraft in the 1990s.

In this final note, the ongoing projects signify an ongoing change that is taking place within the Philippine Air Force and the Armed Forces of the Philippines at-large, improving its capability by securing newly produced aircraft to meet its end requirements, while relieving itself with the ever-increasing maintenance cost of keeping the older platforms in service. 

And with this change comes a promising future that the Philippine defense achieves its desirable posture, ensuring its national sovereignty and integrity.

(c) 2025 PDA.

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