Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the attack helicopters being offered by two American companies to the Philippines are way out of the Philippine government’s budget. | FMangosingINQ
The US State Department has recently approved the possible sale of six units of Bell AH-1Z Viper and six units of Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to the Philippines.
The offers came despite the Philippine Air Force’s selection of T129 ATAK helicopters of the Turkish Aerospace Industries for its attack helicopter acquisition program. The Turkish supplier, however, is still trying to obtain an export license from the US government for subsystems because of sanctions imposed by Washington against Turkey for purchasing weapons from Russia.
At the same briefing, Lorenzana also reacted sharply to leftist groups that are criticizing the helicopter purchase project. Earlier, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said that the government is already having difficulty finding funds for its COVID-19 response but had the temerity to still buy attack helicopters.“The President said all the funds he was referring to last April is just in the air and that his administration now is in a tight fix looking for money to help the poor during the COVID lockdown,” Zarate had said.
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