Finally after a long wait, the DND confirmed that the refurbished C-130H Hercules that it requested from the US will be arriving this July 2020, while the 2nd C-130 will arrive before yearend.
It would be remembered that the C-130s were originally scheduled for delivery in early 2019 but were delayed due to funding issues, with former CGPAF LtGen Kintanar discussing it during a PAF event in October 2018.
The PAF was actually able to save money in this project, as originally t...he PAF was only acquiring 1 unit with a budget of Php2.080 billion. But now they're getting 2 for Php2.5 billion.
The PAF paid most of the cost of the 2 C-130s including the upgrades and ILS worth Php1.6 billion, while the US government is paying the other part worth Php900 million. This is almost the same arrangement made by the DND and US when they acquired the 2 refurbished ex-US Marines C-130T in the Horizon 1 phase.
That Php400 milliom savings can then be used to fund other PAF modernization projects under Horizon 2.
The arrival of these assets is a big boost considering only 2 C-130s are operational at the moment (1 C-130H and 1 C-130T) since the sole C-130B is currently non-operational, the burnt C-130H was already cannibalized and written off, and the 2nd C-130T is in Europe undergoing IRAN maintenance.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108542
#MaxDefense #MaxDefensePH #PhilippineAirForce #PAFC130Acquisition #Horizon2 #C130Hercules #220thAirliftWing
