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
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| 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 of its remaining OV-10 Broncos and 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
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| 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
.png "This is the likely offer that the Philippine Air Force might consider.") |
| 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
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| 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 remaining OV-10 Bronco close air support aircraft and the 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 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 guarantees access to spare parts and operability that ensure its prolonged service within the military.
ENDING NOTE
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| 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, the remaining 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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