CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City – Two new T-129 “ATAK” Helicopters from Turkey and a C-295 Medium Lift Aircraft from Spain were officially turned over to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday, April 6.
The joint turn-over and blessing ceremony of the newly-acquired air assets was held at the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing Hangar in Villamor Airbase, Pasay City.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana presided over the activity as the guest of honor. He was joined by Lieutenant General Erickson Gloria, AFP Vice Chief of Staff and Lieutenant General Connor Anthony Canlas, Philippine Air Force (PAF) Commanding General.
Delivered on March 9, the ATAK Helicopters are part of PAF’s 6-unit acquisition from the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in line with Horizon 2 of the AFP Modernization Plan.
The twin-engine, multi-role, all-weather T-129 helicopter is designed for advanced attack and reconnaissance missions. The units will complement the several surface strike systems of the Air Force and will support the numerous missions of the military.
The C-295 aircraft on the other hand arrived in the Philippines on March 28. It is part of the first batch of deliveries from the Airbus Defense and Space (ADS) of Spain which comprises the Command and Control Fixed-Wing Turbo Prop Acquisition project.
The new asset is the first of the three C-295s that the government acquired under the Medium Lift Aircraft Acquisition Project. It will be utilized to transport personnel and equipment as well as support disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations by the AFP.
“These new aircraft will not just beef up our capabilities but, in deep retrospect, carry the hopes and aspirations of what we want as an Air Force, to become a more agile and dependable organization,” said Lieutenant General Canlas.
Also present at the event were Undersecretary Rufino Lopez Jr, National Security Agency Deputy Director General and Chief of Staff; Undersecretary Arthur Tabaquero, Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs; Professor Ismail Demir, Ph.D. of the Presidency of Defense Industries of the Republic of Türkiye; Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to the Philippines His Excellency Jorge Moragas Sanchez; and representatives from the TAI and ADS./// (Photos by Sgt Dave Soria PAF/PAOAFP)
