Philippine Defense Forces

[Sou-jiro]

ANYTHING RELATED NEWS TO OUR MILITARY, NAVY, MARINES, AIRFORCE ETC..AS WELL AS LATEST NEWS

[Sou-jiro]

"BRP Kagitingan" Philippine Coastguard


The Philippines own rajah humabon destroyer....


Rajah Humabon Destroyer Again




Onboard One of the Vessells



The Philippine Naval task Group (Stingray)

[ryanr]

Poor philippines, we have one of the weakest military in asia. Some of those vessels may look pretty cool, but i know our neighbors have ones that are much better.

[Sou-jiro]

[Sou-jiro]

Military branches:
Army: 73,000
Navy (includes Marine Corps) 24,000
Air Force: 16,500
Paramilitary: 44,000 active


Primary military equipment
65 tanks
42 combat aircraft
97 armed helicopters


Military expenditures: $995 million

Military manpower
Age of service: 20
Military manpower, availability: Males ages 15-49, 21,220,191

POLITICAL ISSUES

Government:
International security issues: The Philippines is involved in a dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and possibly Brunei.

SOURCES OF INSTABILITY

Separatist activities: Muslim extremist groups fighting for a separate state for the Philippines Muslim minority are a constant source of instability and often receive support from Islamic groups in Afghanistan, Libya and Malaysia. The U.S. is now conducting a joint exercise with the Philippine military aimed at wiping out the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group. Though the 660 U.S. soldiers are armed only for self-defense, there has been an outcry against the exercises since a provision in the nation's constitution prohibits foreign troops on Philippine soil.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front: The radical separatist group operates out of the southern Philippines and is fighting for a Muslim homeland on Mindanao island. The MILF is estimated to have 12,000 members, many of whom were trained abroad. The government is holding peace talks with the group.


Abu Sayyaf: One of the smaller Islamic separatist groups operating out of the southern Philippines. Some members have studied or worked in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and are believed to have developed ties to terror organizations there. The group engages in bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and extortion to promote an independent Islamic state in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, areas heavily populated by Muslims.


Moro National Liberation Front: The original political front for Muslim rebels, it was founded in the 1960s. During the 1970s the group reportedly had 30,000 members, but in the 1990s lost support inside the Muslim camp and from outside backers.


Human Rights: The government generally respected the human rights of citizens, but there were serious problems in some areas. Members of the security services were responsible for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrests and detentions. There were allegations by human rights groups that these problems worsened as the government sought to intensify its campaign against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group. The government stepped up efforts to stop military and police abuses, and they decreased somewhat. Although the government made some efforts, it generally was ineffective in reforming law enforcement and legal institutions. Judges and prosecutors are poorly paid, overburdened, remain susceptible to corruption and the influence of the wealthy and powerful, and often fail to provide due process and equal justice. The authorities failed to prosecute many people who broke the law, and some committed abuses with impunity. The government in some cases supported the forcible displacement of squatters from their illegal urban dwellings to make way for industrial and real estate development projects, often leading to disputes and human rights complaints. The practice decreased notably in February when the government

[Skyblade]

Originally Posted by ^SoMeGuY^

"BRP Kagitingan" Philippine Coastguard


The Philippines own rajah humabon destroyer....


Rajah Humabon Destroyer Again




Onboard One of the Vessells



The Philippine Naval task Group (Stingray)

Just a correction, the Rajah Humabon is not a destroyer but a destroyer escort...the predecessor to today's frigate. The ship is the largest of the PN's surface combatants but unfortunately it's more than 60 years old...There's even some historical societies interested in taking up the Humabon once hte PN retires it since it's a WWII veteran. Before being handed over to the Philippines, it was with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force as the Hatsushi, DE 263. The only other operator of the Cannon Class is the Royal Thai Navy but today that's being used as a training vessel. The PN had another Cannon (the Datu Kalantiaw) but that was lost from a typhoon off the coast of Northern Luzon.

The BRP Kagitingan (PG-101) is w/ the navy, not Coast Guard...unfortunately this class is underpowered and it's max speed is 16 knots...try chasing ASG "go fast boats" with that...

The 4th picture is the Mk96 gun onboard the BRP General Mariano Alvarez (PS-38). It is THE most modern surface combatant in the fleet. It was just recently turned over by the United States and is a Cyclone Class Patrol Craft. The Cyclone's original purpose was to support US Navy SEALs but unfortunately this craft was a tad too large for such ops so they were beginning to gradually phase it out. But w/ 9/11, a new role was found for this craft and I believe some were diverted to the USCG but I think the PN is hoping to acquire another one of these patrol craft.

Here's some pics of PS-38 when it was officially accepted by the PN:



Even though we have this and the Jacinto Class Corvettes along w/ the WWII corvettes (Quezon and Malvar Classes) that make up the larger ship portion of the Navy...it's still inadequate for long-duration/distance patrol missions esp. when guarding the Philippine EEZ/Malampaya gas fields and these things aren't even armed with ASMs which makes it hard to give the PN the least bit of a threat compared to neighboring navies...

Originally Posted by ^SoMeGuY^

Primary military equipment
65 tanks
42 combat aircraft
97 armed helicopters

I presume this is the AFP on it's better days... The tanks in inventory is the Scorpion which has been mothballed and in need of upgrades. In terms of combat aircraft, the 15 F-5A/Bs (the ONLY fighter in PAF...disregarding the Crusaders for sale :P) has been pulled out of service (which I hope is temporary but a handful is being maintained by a skeleton crew @ Clark AB). The OV-10 fleet is currently the backbone of counterinsurgency operations (COIN) but there's only 18 operational out of 33 in inventory...thankfully the Thais were generous in lending PAF some of their Broncos. There's one thing I'm happy to hear is the aircraft recovery program PGMA is doing... It's slowly rebuilding the number of operational aircraft in inventory which is good esp. w/ the UH-1 Hueys.

Meh I guess I should stop here before I make this post even larger... I'll post more info and articles later on.

[Skyblade]

Filipino soldiers are not only dying while fighting against NePs, the Abu Sayaaf, and MILF...

Filipino peacekeeper in Haiti shot dead

A MEMBER of the Philippines' peacekeeping force in Haiti was killed by sniper fire Thursday afternoon (before dawn Friday in Manila), a spokesman for the military said.

Staff Sergeant Antonio Batomalaque was shot while on patrol in Cite Soleil in the capital city of Port-au-Prince at 3:45 p.m., Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual said.

Batomalaque was with US Army deputy operations chief Lieutenant Colonel Robert Casias, Uruguayan soldiers, and Chilean and Ecuadorian engineers at the time of the shooting, Pascual said.

Batomalaque's body is being kept at a Port-au-Prince morgue while authorities prepare to bring him back to the Philippines, Pascual said.

"The Armed Forces of the Philippines extends its deep condolences to the family of Staff Sergeant Batomalaque.
The AFP salutes him for being a true and brave soldier," the spokesman said.

Pascual said the military remains committed to peacekeeping in the Central American state despite Batomalaque's death.

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index....story_id=33789

RIP.

[Sou-jiro]

poor poor poor Philippines....kawawa naman tayo were probably the worst equiped in terms defense capability in our region....even much poorer nations than the Philippines...country such as Burma as more equiped than us...what happenned to the money supose to be used for modernazation?....that was during the Estrada period isnt it?...or is it Arroyo's??.


we dont even have eagle F-15...and hornets.....and these are considered old in many western countries...let alone even in some of our developing country neigbours have better one than the two i mention....ow well that curruption for you...

btw whats the name of that currupt PNP official?...the guy who is also a U.S. citizen?.....he should be shot...

[Skyblade]

Unfortunately I'm not updated with the antics of the PNP on a regular basis...

Anyhow...though it would've been great to see F-15s sporting PAF's insignia but the operating costs of these planes aren't feasible with current conditions. Marcos was trying to acquire some in the 70s but due to the lack of money, they settled for the F-8 Crusader as an internim solution before they could buy some new types...but of course that never materialized... Some PAF pilots tried out the F/A-18 in the mid-90s @ China Lake NAS which is north of my hometown and I guess that was a strong contender until the Asian Financial Crisis took place and the modernization funds were drained. Right now, ANYTHING that is economical and that could meet the basic requirements of air defense along with planes to fly would be good enough for now... I mean PAF is losing pilots to Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, and other airlines not because of just pay, but because they don't have anything to fly.

Corruption has always been there...but ever since the Americans left Clark and Subic, things have been harder for the AFP to get a modernization program going. In a sense I'm glad the Americans left because I guess the sooner the government is weined of this luxury, the sooner they could get things together and actually become the least bit more self-sufficient defense-wise...though that may not turn up in the near future...

[renell]

lol, glad to see Manokski's ORBAT still alive. aah the memories I remember the discussions with this Cyclone Class, this is the first one right? I remember the most recent ship before that was the ones we bought ( the PN bought a ship, along with its blueprints too) from the British Navy leaving Hong Kong.

What's new with the airforce Skyblade? You still updated with the best of Philippine defense forumers?

[David-80]

Opus site (timawa.net) just got hacked. I got emailed from him and adroth....I would think, his old site was the best source for Phil defense, well of course other than Manoks website.

The recent update with the airforces, at least the C-130s and UH-1 are now back operational, this will help Phil Air force operation. Especially when they need to combat insurgency and terrorists. Fighter jets and highly supersonic bomber wont do much in combating the terrorists and insurgency.

cheers

[Skyblade]

David-80, that is very true. Right now PAF would need to concentrate more on COIN ops at this moment...and again thats why I'd recommend getting at least something cheap and effective to "show the flag" when patrolling the EEZ so at least it wouldn't eat away the funding for the rest of the air force. I mean our OV-10s and S-211s are getting harassed a bit when patrolling in the South China Sea... I mean I'd just be satisfied w/ 2-3 Hawk trainers armed with AIM-9Ls... As for the C-130s...yeah the numbers are growing slowly...but I can't wait to see the day when PAF would have at least 10 back operational. Along with the UH-1s...I hope the recovery program could increase it's pace since the current 35 (out of 100+ in inventory) has its' utilization pretty heavy and more would be a reliever.

Renell, the blueprints were of the Peacock Class Corvettes, which the PN renamed the Jacinto Class. They got three of em once the UK handed Hong Kong back while Ireland got the other two. Right now they're finally getting the awaited upgrades they deserve.

As for the PAF, the Air Defense component was deactivated since well....PAF dosen't have any active fighters.

[Thunderflip]

That's because we are not a war-loving nation! God, those poorer countries will hell spend more than us, no matter how much their funds are even in the dumps of their starving nations cuz they care a lot bout stuff like that, we don't. Money is spent in infastructure and development. I think the Philippines should be modern and equiped enough to defend itself. That's it. I just wish so much that our country was neutral. That's all. I dun really care bout all that army shit...I only think it is necessary for national defense and security but not for war. I hate war.

[Skyblade]

Originally Posted by Thunderflip

That's because we are not a war-loving nation! God, those poorer countries will hell spend more than us, no matter how much their funds are even in the dumps of their starving nations cuz they care a lot bout stuff like that, we don't. Money is spent in infastructure and development. I think the Philippines should be modern and equiped enough to defend itself. That's it. I just wish so much that our country was neutral. That's all. I dun really care bout all that army shit...I only think it is necessary for national defense and security but not for war. I hate war.

That's what we've been talking about...the DEFENSE of the Philippines...hence the topic name. I mean why in the heavens name would we want (more) war? The insurgency going on has bogged down the development of the Philippines and brought it behind it's potential...why would anyone want more lives lost, more damage done, and just plain out more hell to bear with? I greatly apologize if I gave you the idea of war-mongering in this thread but all I'm chatting about is the basic idea of adequate defense for the nation...nothing more...

[Æsahættr]

OMG we have a millitary? 0_o

[Sou-jiro]

well no one wants war...but reality is we need an upgrade...but offcourse im sure we all despise war....no one wants conflict and more innocent lives lives lost..yeh your right i think we need to upgrade just a lil' bit as mean of natural defence but n ot for promoting war... keep up the good info coming
skyblade

[bagel]

War keeps people like me in business. (in a not so war-profiteery way)

[renell]

^ in what way?

What kinds of updates are those Peacock's going to get? The Navy has the biggest job in all three branches, imo, for our country is an archipelago. The waters between Sabah and the islands in the south are a hotspot for pirates and terrorists, and we need to give them the impression that it's not an open sea. And those WWII-era ships need to go into our museums to get some tourists I heard some of them joined D-Day, lol. The AFP needs to be modernised, perhaps less big ships, more faster and smaller ships. Just like how the PAF doesn't have fast fighters, but with a fleet of C130s, OV10s, Hueys and basically army transport and support.

[Sou-jiro]

if budget is really tight at the moment...then navy can go first update on more equiped and faster vessels....they're role is more urgent at the currecnt situation...airforce can wait..

[Sou-jiro]

does anyone have accurate stats of the navy or airforces...equipment at present...