By Lilian Mellejor/PNA
DAVAO CITY—A United States-commissioned Russian cargo plane landed on Francisco Bangoy International Airport Wednesday night to unload three helicopters intended for the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)-related activities.
Engr. Rex Obsena, Davao Airport manager, was unable to provide details on the delivery of the choppers as these were supposed to be unloaded at the Zamboanga airport.
Obsena said the Antonov cargo plane, which originated in Sri Lanka, landed here as Zamboanga’s airport runway cannot accommodate the plane’s enormous size.
Obsena said the plane left Davao at around 5:30 a.m on Thursday, adding the landing and exiting of the Russian plane went through Customs and Immigration protocols.
Early this year, the Philippines and the United States opened this year’s “Balikatan” exercises. Some 5,000 Filipino and 3,000 American soldiers already participated in “Balikatan” activities beginning mid-April.
The military exercises also included troops from the Australian Defence Force and Japan Self-Defense Force.
The Department of National Defense (DND) sees the annual “Balikatan” exercise as a manifestation that in the needs of involving security challenges, the United States and the Philippines continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder.
It is also regarded as an avenue to enhance cooperation between the Philippine military forces and an opportunity to test and validate the forces’ interoperability.
