Philippine Army moves to improve its Riverine Capabilities

The Philippine Army (PA) has started to improve and modernize its riverine capabilities, which is among their existing capabilities that are not well known to the general public.

As part of the Revised AFP Modernization Program's Horizon 2 Phase, the Philippine Army has included the acquisition of Riverine Operations Equipment in their program. This involves the acquisition of 3 types of boats that could be used for riverine operations, which the Philippine Army wishes to improve on.

Special Forces operators with one of the first new Light Boat for the Philippine Army. Photo credited to the Philippine Army through their Facebook page.

The Philippine Army's Riverine Unit:
Unknown to many, the Philippine Army has a riverine unit that is attached with the Special Forces Regiment - Airborne (SFR-A), which the 4th Special Forces Battalion (Riverine), which are equipped with several small boats for the conduct of riverine operations and waterborne assault.

Currently the 4th SFB-R are equipped with several types of boats, mostly wooden locally-made boats including the Condor Scout and Support boats, motorized bancas, fibreglass-hulled assault boats, and the Australian-made airboats.

Due to age, it appears that many of the Condor Scout and Support boats that were acquired under Project Condor almost 10 years ago have some deficiencies that the Philippine Army wishes to improve on.

One of the Philippine Army's Condor Scout Boat (top), and the Assault Watercraft (above) which are in service with the Special Forces Regiment - Airborne. Photos taken from Wikipedia.

The Marawi Crisis in 2017 also proved to be another experience that showed the Philippine Army on the importance of riverine operations, considering Marawi City was just beside Lake Marawi, which was used by terrorists to enter and exit the city and conduct supply runs.

MaxDefense received information that the Philippine Army wishes to increase the number of its riverine forces, and that includes expanding its assets to enable the conduct of operating from water.

Modernizing the Philippine Army's Riverine Forces:
As part of its effort to modernize the unit, the Philippine Army has included the Riverine Operations Equipment Acquisition Project in the Horizon 2 Phase Priority Projects list that was approved in-principle by Pres. Rodrigo Duterte in June 2018.

A budget of Php3,721,968,000.00 was allocated for the project, which consists of 3 sub-projects with the following details:

Lot 1: Light Scout Boats Acquisition Project: which originally called for 56 multipurpose light boats that can be used for a variety of missions including riverine patrol, utility, troop carrying. This was later on reduced to 52 boats with a budget of Php49,168,000.00

Photo taken from and credited to the Philippine Army.

Lot 2: Assault Boats Acquisition Project: this lot calls for the acquisition of 18 fibreglass-hulled assault boats that are armed with at least 3 machine guns and/or auotmatic grenade launchers. Allocated budget is Php2,368,800,000.00, or an average of Php131,600,000.00 per boat.

Lot 3: Support Boats Acquisition Project: these boats will be used for utilitarian missions including troop and supply transport, command and control, and may also be used to act as a "mother ship" for smaller boats especially in larger bodies of water. 8 boats are needed with a budget of Php1,304,400,000.00, or an average of Php163,050,000.00.

It remains to be seen if the Philippine Army will continue using the motorized bancas and Condor boats, although it is expected to be relegated to secondary roles.

For both Lots 2 and 3, no funding has been provided yet and it appears to be that they will be looking for other sources, including US military assistance to allow the acquisition to proceed.

Light Boats:
So far, it appears that the Lot 1 for Light Scout Boats are the only once that have moved forward. The Philippine Army has displayed the first unit, while also confirmed that a total of 52 boats will be delivered.

The Light Boat as displayed by the Philippine Army. The contract for the boats include the trailers as well.

Based on the photos showed publicly by the Philippine Army, the boats are around 5 to 6 meters long, and appears to be made of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) similar to the small boats acquired recently by the Philippine Navy and Philippine National Police. They are powered by 2 outboard motors, and while it does not appear to have any weapons mounting, it appears possible to have one in the forward space.

The Philippine Army confirmed that the boat has a maximum speed of 25 knots and can carry 8 fully-equipped troops, although it appears to be similar in size to the existing Assault Watercraft boats. 

The boats are small enough for safe operations even on small rivers, but sturdy enough to operate in calm waters of larger bodies of water like lakes.

MaxDefense was also informed by sources that the boats were made locally, but we are still waiting for more information on which company built the boats.

Due to the small value of the project, the Philippine Army conducted the procurement on their own without the need to involve the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Department and National Defense (DND).

Assault Boats:
This is an interesting project of the Philippine Army due to the large amount of money allocated for the project to acquire 18 assault boats.

An average of Php131,600,000.00 was given for each assault boat. MaxDefense assumes that this does not include the weapons, which are normally acquired separately especially if they are manually operated.

In comparison, an unarmed Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) of the Philippine Navy costs Php90,000,000.00, which means it is highly possible that the Philippine Army might be looking at acquiring boats similar to the MPAC in terms of size and capability. This would then allow the Philippine Army SFR-A to operate in coastal areas as well.

It remains to be seen though, since this is not impossible considering the Philippines is an archipelagic country surrounded mostly by water, and conducting assault from the water without the need to let the Philippine Marine Corps or the Philippine Navy do it is something the Philippine Army may wanted to have.

As long as the boats can be moved by land using trailer trucks, then it becomes even more reasonable.

An MPAC of the Philippine Navy. The Philippine Army's budget for its Assault Boats costs around Php131.6 million each, which is greater than the Philippine Navy's MPAC which, when unarmed, costs around Php90-100 million each. Credits to original source of photo.

With the Philippine government having difficulty in securing funding for several defense projects, and even diverting those they already allocated for other projects, MaxDefense is not positive that the Lots and 3 of the Riverine Operations Equipment Acquisition Project may bear fruit anytime soon.

At best, MaxDefense believes that funding could only be made by 2022, since those projects originally scheduled for 2020 were already pushed back to 2021.

MaxDefense will continue to monitor these 3 sub-projects, which our readers would find in our modernization monitoring website extension, Philippine Defense Resource, once the resource pages for these 3 projects are up.


Project Summaries:

Riverine Operations Equipment Acquisition Project Lot 1 - Light Boats

Note: edit as of 29 July 2020

* End User: Philippine Army (Special Forces Regiment - Airborne)

* Quantity: 52 boats

* Modernization Phase: Horizon 2 Phase of RAFPMP

* Project ABC: Php49,168,000.00

* Acquisition Mode: Public Bidding

* Source of Funding: GAA Funds of the Philippine Army FY2019

* SARO Release: TBA

* Winning Proponent: TBA

* Product for Delivery: FRP-hulled Light Boats, with Trailer

* Contract Price: TBA

* First post by MaxDefense: 29 July 2020 (this post)

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag/s: #PARiverineLightBoatsAcquisition 

* Status: Contract signed for Lot 1 in 2019, delivery by 2020.

Photo taken from and credited to the Philippine Army.

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Riverine Operations Equipment Acquisition Project Lot 2 - Assault Boats

Note: edit as of 29 July 2020

* End User: Philippine Army (Special Forces Regiment - Airborne)

* Quantity: 18 boats

* Modernization Phase: Horizon 2 Phase of RAFPMP

* Project ABC: Php2,368,800,000.00

* Acquisition Mode: TBA

* Source of Funding: Still undetermined, to be financed through other means outside the AFP Modernization Program Fund.

* SARO Release: TBA

* Winning Proponent: TBA

* Product for Delivery: TBA

* Contract Price: TBA

* First post by MaxDefense: 29 July 2020 (this post)

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag/s: #PARiverineAssaultBoatsAcquisition 

* Status: Still in pre-procurement stage.

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Riverine Operations Equipment Acquisition Project Lot 3 - Support Boats

Note: edit as of 29 July 2020

* End User: Philippine Army (Special Forces Regiment - Airborne)

* Quantity: 8 boats

* Modernization Phase: Horizon 2 Phase of RAFPMP

* Project ABC: Php1,304,000,000.00

* Acquisition Mode: TBA

* Source of Funding: Still undetermined, to be financed through other means outside the AFP Modernization Program Fund.

* SARO Release: TBA

* Winning Proponent: TBA

* Product for Delivery: TBA

* Contract Price: TBA

* First post by MaxDefense: 29 July 2020 (this post)

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag/s: #PARiverineSupportBoatsAcquisition

* Status: Still in pre-procurement stage.

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First post and edit: 29 July 2020
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Philippine Army received upgraded M14 marksman rifles from Jordan

The assistance provided by the Kingdom of Jordan to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is expected to be very useful to its fight against terrorism and other threats to the Filipino people.

So far, the government has been able to declare two items that they received from the Jordanian government: the two Bell AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters, and an Al-Sater assault vehicle which MaxDefense reported last August 2019.

So far, another proposal from the Jordanian government was for the donation of up to 60 M113 armored vehicles, which until now has not been exercised.

But it turns out that there could be more grants that the Jordanian government may have offered to the Philippine government, as MaxDefense received information late last year of a grant that the AFP received.

In this case, the Philippine Army was said to benefit from the delivery of a few hundreds of upgraded M14 7.62x51mm rifles from Jordan, which are previously used by the Royal Jordanian Army.

Credits to original source of photo.

Upgraded M14 7.62mm marksman rifles

According to information received by MaxDefense from Philippine Army sources, they received several hundred units of upgraded M14 7.62x51mm NATO battle rifles from Jordan late last year.

The rifles were already upgraded to a configuration similar to the Mk. 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) upgrade as previously used by the US Special Operations Command.

The Mk. 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle upgrade is essentially an M14 battle rifle with modifications made according to the requirements of the US Navy SEALs. Depending on the variant, either it uses the standard 22" barrel, or a shorter 18" barrel bolted to a telescopic chassis stock system made by Sage International.

Added with the telescopic chassis stock system were Picatinny accessory rails, a pistol grip, upgraded front sight, a bipod and a new flash hider.

The Mk. 14 EBR. Photo taken from Guns and Ammo.

The chassis is made mostly of lightweight alloy similar to those used in aircraft, reducing the overall weight of the rifle. The availability of the Picatinny rails allows the use of different optics including nigh vision scopes, or the use of two different optic systems.

Different builders made their own variants of the EBR, with changes on the chassis design, pistol grip, butt stock, flash hider, barrel lengths and brands, front and rear sights, optic systems, and many others. But the design remains similar to the base model.

Several manufacturers have introduced their own version of the Mk. 14 EBR, which even includes US-based FERFRANS which is owned by Filipino Americans, calling their variant the SOPMOD M14/M1A EBR.

Even FERFRANS has its own M14 EBR-type upgrade called the SOPMOD M14/M1A EBR. Photo taken from Defense Review.

Other countries also adapted an M14 upgrade program similar to the Mk.14 EBR model, with the Jordan among those who took interest to upgrade their existing inventory of M14 battle rifles.


Jordanian M14 EBR Rifles:

The Kingdom of Jordan received thousands of used M14 7.62x51mm battle rifles as excess defense articles from the US government. Most went to the Royal Jordanian Army (RJA) and used for a variety of purposes including as designated marksman rifles.

Like the M14s used by the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps, the M14 has become too old, heavy and cumbersome compared to most modern assault and marksman rifles. Thus, the RJA turned into converting their M14s into something similar to the Mk. 14 Enhanced Battle Rifles.

No quantities were confirmed but apparently the RJA converted a few thousand of their M14s into something similar to the Mk. 14 EBR. These were used as marksman or sniper rifles within the RJA, until they were ultimately replaced by the DPMS Panther Arms LR308 5.56x45mm marksman / sniper rifle.

With the rifles just stored, a few hundreds of them found their way to the Philippines, after the Jordanian government offered them to the Philippine government as a grant, with approval from the US government being the original source of the weapons.

According to sources, the rifles arrived around 4th quarter of 2019, and will still be undergoing processes before distribution to frontline units.This would allow the Philippine Army to build up its division sniper companies, while taking out the old M14 rifles being utilized for DMR functions to undergo rehabilitation and upgrade.

Issues on the Mk.1 4 EBR:
While these assets would be useful, it would best noted why the US armed forces replaced these rifles with AR-10 based rifles like the Mk. 11 7.62mm rifle.

Apparently they are prone to shock due to the lightweight chassis, which could affect accuracy. But these rifles are not expected to be used roughly, considering most marksmen would be operating at a different tempo than regular infantrymen.
But this won't be an issue for the Philippine Army considering these are still far better than what they have, or than nothing at all.

As a temporary measure, the Mk. 14 EBRs would be able to fill up the marksman requirements while more newer rifles like the SIG716 G2 are acquired in the future.

Photo taken from Wikipedia.

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The arrival of a huge amount of 7.62x51mm Mk.14 EBRs will definitely improve the Philippine Army's infantry and small unit capabilities, considering it is short on designated marksman rifles despite the recent arrival of new SIG Sauer SIG716 G2 7.62x51mm marksman rifles. A lot of the Philippine Army's existing M14 rifles will be given the necessary improvements or eventually retired from frontline service.

It remains to be seen though on when the Philippine Army would be able to show these newly acquired rifles, as it appears that they have not distributed it to frontline units yet despite word that some units are being tested by AFP Special Operations Command (AFPSOCOM) units.

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First posted and released on 11 March 2020

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Philippine Army Finally Orders the ATMOS 155mm/52cal Self-Propelled Howitzer System from Elbit Systems

As Horizon 2 projects continue to move forward slowly, the Philippine Army has been able to push its projects forward faster than its other counterpart service branches in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

In this case, it has achieved a major milestone again for its 155mm Howitzer, Self-Propelled System Acquisition Project, as 2020 started.

MaxDefense had extensive discussions in the past regarding this project, and we advice our readers to read these blog entries to have a background of the project, before proceeding with this new entry.

 "Philippine Army pushing for the Purchase of Israeli ATMOS 2000 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer" - first posted on 25 June 2013;

"PH Army to Acquire ATMOS SPH, Eyes MBDA Mistral & LIGNex1 Chiron SHORAD as it Activates 2 New Units" - first posted on 17 January 2020;

"155mm Howitzer, Self Propelled System Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army" - Resource page for the project, as posted in our extension @ Philippine Defense Resource.

The ATMOS 155mm/52cal wheeled self-propelled howitzer mobile firing unit during tests in Israel. Photo taken from Army Guide website.

Since our previous discussions, MaxDefense Philippines was able to receive further information about the project.

Additional Information on the Project:

It would be remembered that the recent interest of the Philippine Army on 155mm self-propelled howitzer systems started as early as 2012. This was when the Philippine Army released a Request for Information (RFI) to Israel's Soltam Systems (now part of Elbit Systems) regarding their ATMOS 2000 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer (SPH) system.

During the pre-delivery tests of the M-71 155mm towed howitzers ordered by the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps in 2017, Elbit Systems has already included demonstrations of the ATMOS 155mm/52cal Self Propelled Howitzers to the DASAT teams from both services. This photo was taken in the Negev Desert in Israel. Photo shared exclusively to MaxDefense by one of our sources.

In 2013, there was already strong support within the Philippine Army to acquire 2 or 3 batteries worth of ATMOS 2000 155mm SPH, but this failed to gain traction due to lack of funding from the national government.The Philippine Army adjusted their procurement programs according to the budget on hand, taking out the planned acquisition of 155mm wheeled SPH as part of the measures.

But interest on the project remained, and the Philippine Army even requested information from France's Nexter Systems for their CAmion Équipé d'un Système d'ARtillerie (CAESAR) 155mm wheeled SPH, which is in service with several of the Philippines' regional neighbors like Indonesia and Thailand, and competes directly with the Israeli ATMOS 2000.

While the ATMOS 2000 155mm SPH (top) was originally what the Philippine Army was interested in, they also made an evaluation on Nexter Systems' CAESAR 155mm SPH (above). In the end, the PA TWG decided to go with the ATMOS. Credits to original sources of the photos.

But during the evaluation period in preparation for its procurement under the Horizon 2 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program, it was found by the Philippine Army Technical Working Group (TWG) that offer made by Soltam Systems / Elbit Systems Land & C4I using the ATMOS was better in terms of performance, support and sustainment, pricing, and other reasons compared to the offer made by Nexter Systems with their CAESAR.

Compared to the CAESAR, the PA-TWG on the project found that the ATMOS was cheaper in terms of procurement and sustainment, and has greater support from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, and the Philippine Army gains to benefit on technology transfer especially in localized support for the self-propelled howitzer systems and supporting equipment.


Updates on the Project for Early 2020:

It would be remembered that the decision of the DND during the start of the project implementation was to go for a Govenrment-to-Government (G2G) deal with the selected product's country of origin. With the PA TWG selecting the ATMOS 155mm/52cal wheeled SPH system and the Senior Defense and Military leaders approving the selection, the Department of National Defense (DND) proceeded with negotiations with the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

After passing the Post Qualification Inspection (PQI) last December 2019, and final negotiations on the deal's final contract terms and conditions and final pricing, the Department of National Defense - Bids and Awards Committee (DND-BAC) has finally released the Notice of Award (NOA) for the 155mm Howitzer, Self-Propelled System Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army to Israel's Elbit Systems Land & C4I, with a agreed contract price of around Php2.386 billion.

And aside from that, MaxDefense received confirmation from defense and military sources that the DND has also signed the contract for the project with Elbit Systems Land & C4I in late January 2020. It still remains to be confirmed if the Notice to Proceed (NTP) has been released, since this would be the basis of the proponent on the start of the countdown to the delivery deadline which is 730 days (2 years) from the release of NTP.

If NTP is released by February 2020, we could expect the completion of the project (full delivery) by February 2022, although it is expected that the deliveries will be made in tranches, allowing the Philippine Army's Army Artillery Regiment to receive the units earlier.

The ATMOS 155mm wheeled SPH for the Philippine Army is expected to use base truck platforms from Germany's MAN. Credits to original source of photo.

It was also confirmed that Elbit Systems Land & C4I may also use base truck platforms from Germany's MAN Trucks, which has a better service support network in the Philippines compared to the other platforms used by the system including those from Mercedes-Benz, Tatra of the Czech Republic, and TATA of India. In comparison, the ATMOS SPH used by the Royal Thai Army uses 8x8 trucks from Tatra.

The Philippine Army's Army Artillery Regiment has also activated two new Field Artillery Batteries, the 1st and 2nd Field Artillery (155mm, Self-Propelled) that will handle the operation and sustainment of these new equipment. Both batteries will be under the 1st 155mm Howitzer Battalion (Self-Propelled), which is expected to be activated on or before 2024.

Above is the development roadmap of the Army Artillery Regiment for their Self Propelled Howitzer capability. So far they were able to meet their milestones for 2019, and it appears that they might hit their milestone for 2024 at an earlier date. Photo shared exclusively to MaxDefense by a community member.

With the ATMOS 155mm/52cal wheeled self-propelled howitzer system entering the Philippine Army inventory soon, the service joins its regional peers in having the same system available. Among those countries in the ASEAN with a similar system include Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar.


Project Summary:

155mm Howitzer, Self Propelled System Acquisition Project

Note: Edited as of 02 February 2020.

* End User: Philippine Army (Army Artillery Regiment)

* Quantity: 2 batteries (12 mobile firing units + associated support systems)

* Modernization Phase: Horizon 2 Phase Priority Projects of RAFPMP

* Project ABC: Php2,388,000,000.00

* Contract Price: Php2,386,082,313.81

* Difference between ABC and Contract Price: Php1,917,686.19

* Expected Delivery: 2 years from NTP release - February 2022

* Acquisition Mode: Government-to-Government (G2G) Procurement between the DND and Israel Ministry of Defense-SIBAT

* Source of Funding: From other sources, to be paid via Multi-Year Obligatory Allocations (MYOA).

* SARO Release: SARO-BMB-D-19-0025732 dated 18 December 2019.

* First post by MaxDefense: 25 June 2013

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PA155mmSPHAcquisition

* Status: Post Qualification Inspection with Elbit Systems done on December 2018, reinsepction done as of November 2019. SARO for 15% initial deposit released by DBM on December 2019. NOA released December 2019. Contract signed as of late January 2020. Notice to Proceed release for confirmation.

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First edit and release: 09 February 2020

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Philippine Army Awards Armored Vehicle-Launched Bridge to Elbit-IMI JV, to Possibly Supply Joint Assault Bridge

Finally, after keeping silence on the developments of this project, MaxDefense can finally speak up as the Department of National Defense (DND) has made the developments public.

The DND has finally awarded the Combat Engineering Equipment Lot 1: Armored Vehicle-Launched Bridge (AVLB) Acquisition Project to Israel's Elbit Systems Land & C4I - Israel Military Industries Joint Venture, with a Contract Price worth US$27,727,188.00 officially converted to Php1,407,459,790.10.

An example of an Armored Vehicle-Launched Bridge. The PA is acquiring 2 units, their first ever. Photo taken from Defense Post website.

The NOA was released on 26 December 2019, and was received on 27 December 2019. It is expected that Contract Signing would be made within January 2020, 

The NOA released by the DND in favor of Elbit-IMI JV. Photo taken from PhilGEPS.

Based on MaxDefense's sources, Elbit Systems - IMI Joint Venture (which is a weird venture considering IMI was already procured by Elbit Systems last year and is just now a division within Elbit Systems) will be providing an extended length version of the Leonardo DRS - IMI Systems Joint Assault Bridge.

The Joint Assault Bridge is a scissor-type bridging system with a Military Load Capacity (MLC) rating of MLC-85, which means it can withstand loads of up to 85 tons. This means it can support even the heaviest main battle tanks which weigh around 65-70 tons. Leonardo DRS is the prime contractor while Israel Military Industries (IMI) is one the main partners of the project and development of the bridging system.

In the US Army and US Marine Corps, the Joint Assault Bridge will use the General Dynamics M1 Abrams tank platform, and is seen as a less expensive alternative to the M104 Wolverine, and a replacement to the old M60 AVLB system that requires replacement.

MaxDefense sources confirmed that Elbit-IMI JV might supply an lengthened version of the Leonardo DRS - IMI Joint Assault Bridge being developed for the US Army and US Marine Corps. Photos from Leonardo DRS website. 

Since the Philippine Army specified a diesel-engined tracked tank platform, it will not use the General Dynamics M1 Abrams tank platform, and will instead use a European-made platform.

If MaxDefense sources are correct, the platform will be based on the latest Leopard 2 main battle tank chassis called the Panzerschnellbrucke 2 from Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). which is the only tank platform that meets the specified requirements of the Philippine Army.

Currently the Leopard 2 platform is used by the German Leguan bridging system, although sources confirmed that the Leopard 2 could also be modified to carry the JAB system.

The Leopard 2 tank platform is said to have been proposed by Elbit-IMI JV for the AVLB acquisition project. This would be supplied by Germany's KMW. Photo taken from KMW's website.

This means that the Leopard 2 could become more likely for the Philippine Army to consider in its future Main Battle Tank requirements, although this is more speculation due to the Philippine Army's planned MBT acquisition still in the process of being justified as part of the Horizon 3 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program, and also the procurement process still unknown.

MaxDefense will discuss more about this possibility in future blog entries.

With Elbit being the winning proponent, it is also expected that the vehicles would be equipped with new communications equipment using Elbit-Tadiran's product line. MaxDefense believes this will include also the E-LynX mobile ad-hoc network communication system which is said to be introduced to some of the Philippine Army's newer armored vehicles supplied by Elbit System like the M113A2 Mortar Carriers, in addition to standard combat net radio systems like Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) used by NATO countries and the US, including its allies like the Philippines.

Elbit E-LynX (top) and SINCGARS (above) are expected to be included as the communications system of the AVLB. Photos credited to original sources.

With a delivery period of 550 days from Notice to Proceed (NTP), MaxDefense expects the delivery of this project to be completed only by late 2021. This is reasonable enough, and MaxDefense even believes that the Philippine Army should acquire additional units as 2 units may not be enough for its current and future requirements.

Project Summary:

Combat Engineering Equipment - Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge Acquisition Project

Note: Edited as of 24 January 2020.

* End User: Philippine Army (unspecified Army Engineering Brigade)

* Quantity: at least 2 units, with armored tracked platform

* Modernization Phase: Horizon 2 Phase Priority Projects of RAFPMP

* Project ABC: Php1,600,000,000.00

* Acquisition Mode: Public Bidding

* Source of Funding: GAA funded, to be paid via Multi-Year Obligatory Allocations (MYOA).

* SARO Release: TBA

* Winning Proponent: Elbit Systems Land & C4I - Israel Military Industries JV (Israel)

* Product for Delivery: Sources describes as lengthened version of Leonardo DRS-IMI Joint Assault Bridge using Leopard 2 tank platform

    

* Contract Price: US$27,727,188.00, converted to Php1,407,459,790.10

* First post by MaxDefense: TBA

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PACEEAVLBAcquisition

* Status: Elbit Systems declared sole bidder, passed PQI on December 2019 and awarded NOA on 26 December 2019. Contract Signing said to have been made before 24 January 2020 although MaxDefense is awaiting for more confirmation.

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First edit and release: 25 January 2020

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