2 attack choppers at isang C-295 aircraft, natanggap na ng AFP

ni Lolet Abania | April 7, 2022

Nai-turn over na sa Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) nitong Miyerkules, ang dalawang bagong T-129 “ATAK” helicopters mula sa Turkey at isang C-295 medium lift aircraft mula sa Spain.

Sa pahayag ng AFP ngayong Huwebes, ginanap ang turnover ceremony sa 250th Presidential Airlift Wing Hangar sa Villamor Airbase, Pasay City, na pinangunahan ni Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Ang mga ATAK helicopters, na dumating noong Marso 9, ay bahagi ng six-unit acquisition ng Air Force mula sa Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) sa ilalim ng Horizon 2 ng AFP Modernization Plan.

Ayon sa AFP, ang twin-engine, multi-role, at all-weather T-129 chopper ay dinisenyo para sa advanced attack at reconnaissance missions.

Ang C-295 aircraft, na naideliber noong Marso 28, ay bahagi ng unang batch ng mga deliveries mula sa Airbus Defense and Space ng Spain, na binubuo ng proyektong Command and Control Fixed-Wing Turbo Prop Acquisition.

“This is the first of the three C-295s that the government acquired under the Medium Lift Aircraft Acquisition Project,” saad ng AFP.

“It will be utilized to transport personnel and equipment as well as support disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations by the AFP,” dagdag ng military.

Guests of honor din sa seremonya sina AFP Vice Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Erickson Gloria at Philippine Air Force (PAF) Commanding General Lieutenant General Connor Anthony Canlas.

“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,” sabi ni Canlas.

Dumalo rin sa event sina Presidency of Defense Industries of the Republic of Türkiye’s Professor Ismail Demir, Ph.D. at Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to the Philippines His Excellency Jorge Moragas Sanchez.