MANILA, July 16 — As the country’s South Korean-made FA-50PH “Fighting Eagle” jet fighters gets its baptism of fire in Marawi City, the Department of National Defense (DND) has allocated the sum of PHP497,052,000 for the acquisition of spare parts and other components needed for the unscheduled maintenance of the above-mentioned aircraft.
Money for the project will be sourced from the Philippine Air Force General Appropriations Act of CY 2017.
Pre-bid conference is slated for Tuesday, 10 a.m. at the DND Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Conference Room,Basement, Left Wing, DND Building, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
While bid opening is slated on Aug. 1, 10 a.m. at the same venue, DND BAC chair Assistant Secretary Josue Gaverza said in a bid bulletin posted at the DND website.
Incidentally, all FA-50s involved in the ongoing Marawi City operations were grounded after a bombing mishap which killed two troopers and wounded 11 others last July 12.
The PAF’s 12 plane order is worth PHP18.9 billion and deliveries commenced on 2015 until this year.
The contract was finalized and signed in 2014.
The FA-50PHs has a top speed of Mach 1.5 or one and a half times the speed of sound and is capable of being fitted air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-9 “Sidewinder” air-to-air and heat-seeking missiles aside from light automatic cannons. (Priam F. Nepomuceno/PNA)
