AFP Increases Orders for New M4 Rifles to 63,000 units

Related to an earlier blog entry by MaxDefense (see "3 Projects to Modernize the Assault Rifle needs of the AFP" dated December 18, 2013) regarding new rifles for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, it appears that the Department of National Defense (DND) has increased its order for new M4 rifles from American arms manufacturer Remington Arms Company. Initial reports from last year indicated that the order is only for 50,629 units worth Php 1,944,261,591.66, or around Php 38,402 per rifle (by average, without considering other parts of the contract). But during the announcement made by President Noynoy Aquino during the graduation rites of cadets from the Philippine Military Academy batch 2014, the numbers were raised to 63,000 units worth at around Php 2.4 billion. 

The AFP continues to use the venerable M16A1 series rifles, which first saw action in the Vietnam War. The photo above shows Marines from the US and Philippines during Balikatan 2009 Exercises, with USMC using M16A4 while the PMC still uses the old M16A1.
Photo taken from USMC website c/o Wikimedia.

By simple math, Php 2.4 billion for 63,000 rifles means that the average unit price might still stand as the original signed contract price, thus it may be possible that the DND used its option to increase the order. 

The Philippine Army's Special Operations Command (SOCOM) uses the M4, although regular army units still uses the longer and old M16A1. The introduction of the Remington R4 starting this year will change that.

Following the president's announcements, Remington may start delivery of the 1st batch of rifles within the next few months, which was per original contract. This will enable the military to start the massive repair and refurbishing of old M16 rifles, using the services of the Government Arsenal (GA) without affecting the availability of rifles for each serviceman. A more elaborate explanation on the GA M16 refurbishing works can be found in the earlier MaxDefense blog (see 1st paragraph).

The Remington R4, their version of the M4 carbine.
Photo taken from Remington Arms Company website.

The increase in contract for more Remington rifles doesn't necessarily mean as a loss to the Government Arsenal (GA), which has an ongoing rifle production project based on the M16/M4 family. The GA, which is looking for a partner for the rifle production in its facility in Limay, Bataan, may consider Remington's offer as its position is now stronger as opposed to its other major arms manufacturer competitors like Colt. This may allow GA to manufacture the R4 (designation of Remington's M4-based rifle) under license provided by Remington Arms Company, and provide the manufacturing technology, technical know-how, and skills to GA.

Modernizing the army always starts with modernizing the infantryman, and what better way to start this by giving them a dependable rifle they can use to do their job. 

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UPDATES:
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July 17, 2014:
A speech of Pres. Benigno Aquino III during the opening of Asian Defense and Security (ADAS) Exhibition 2014 confirmed that aside from the initial order of 50,629 units of Remington R4 carbine ordered by the Army, it has added another 12,657 units using some of the budget saved from the tender. This brings the total order to 63,286 units. This further confirms the information provided in this blog, due to conflicts with other media reports that only 50,000+ units are expected by the PA.

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August 14, 2014:
President Noynoy Aquino presided the hand-over ceremonies for the 1st batch from a total of 50,629 units of Remington R4A3 (M4) carbines to the Philippine Army and Philippine Navy (Marine Corps), during a ceremony this morning. Speeches made during the event confirmed the additional order of more than 12,000 rifles using parts of the savings the AFP incurred for the bidding of the said rifles. 

Above is a video from RTV Malacanang of the said event. 

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More C-130 Hercules transport planes for the PAF staring 2014

The Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) C-130 Hercules is one of the most famous aircraft of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), and has been in its inventory for more than 30 years. But with only three (3) operational units in the PAF's service, specifically 2 C-130H model and a single C-130B model, the PAF's transport capability is severely limited to the availability and capacity of these aircraft. The absence of a large and capable fleet of smaller transport aircraft to support the C-130 makes it more difficult for the PAF as the other transport aircraft types of the PAF, the Fokker F-27 and the N-22B Nomad, only have a handful of operational units left for use as well.

The PAF received more than a dozen C-130s, composed of military "B" and "H" models as well as civilian L-100-20 and stretched L-100-30. At least 2 fatally crashed and majority of the fleet have been written-off due to poor maintenance and other reasons by the PAF.

A PAF C-130H Hercules. The PAF currently only has 3 operational C-130s in its arsenal.
Photo taken from Airplane-Pictures.net

But hopefully everything will change starting 2014.

MaxDefense sources indicate that besides plans to purchase new light and medium lift aircraft, additional C-130 Hercules heavy tactical transport planes will also be made available to the PAF, and will be sourced from the PAF's boneyard and from its foremost ally, the United States.

For those who passed by the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, you may have seen three parked C-130s on the apron. These three aircraft are currently not operational, and are the only units found by PAF and Lockheed Martin specialists as acceptable for re-commissioning after extensive refurbishment and repair.

Three C-130s at Mactan-Cebu International Airport apron. These will be refurbished by the PAF.
Photo taken from Mr. Jake Nelson @ Pinoy Daily Journal.

According to MaxDefense sources, these 3 units (2 C-130B and an L-100 civilian version) will undergo in-house refurbishing and repair similar to what was done last year to C-130B tail no. 3633. It will be done by the PAF's 410th Maintenance Wing although the work might be done in Cebu, not in the wing's Clark Air Base facility. Information given to MaxDefense regarding these 3 C-130s is not yet final though, any may change depending on the situation in the next few months.

C-130B tail no. 3633 with PAF 410th Maintenance Wing team after completion of in-house refurbishing work.
Photo from Mr. Thomas Diez' Facebook account as shared in Timawa.net

Another source of additional C-130s will come from Excess Defense Articles (EDA) from the United States. According to MaxDefense sources, the DND and PAF are in talks with the US government to get at least 3 units of "H" models from US EDA stocks. It is also possible for the PAF to acquire additional units besides the 3 being pushed. These 3 aircraft will be refurbished there first before delivery to the PAF, and will be delivered between 2014 and 2015 depending on the deal's immediate approval and the extent of refurbishment.

If all goes according to planned, the PAF will have at least 9 operational C-130s by 2015.

Commissioning of C-130B tail no. 3633 after in-house refurbishing by PAF's 410th Maintenance Wing at Clark Air Base.
Photo taken from Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office.

Besides C-130s, MaxDefense also received information that other aircraft types from American EDA stocks are also being eyed for transfer to the Philippine Air Force, either via grant or Foreign Military Sales (FMS), including helicopters, special missions aircraft (for further confirmation) and fighter aircraft.

MaxDefense will update you regarding this topic upon availability of more information.

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Welcome to MaxDefense.

Welcome to MaxDefense. 

Nothing but sensible and logical commentaries and opinion on defense related issues. We will be covering mostly defense issues from the Philippines, ASEAN and Asia-Pacific region, one of the most volatile regions in the world.

We'll be closely working with the best sources as well for the latest news and updates, unadulterated by media financial clout or political BS. 

Stay tuned for our first new posts coming your way, and we hope for your participation as well. Comments are welcome, but we'll be strict on the comment content as to avoid nonsense and immature posts which are prevalent in most defense-oriented blogs and sites.

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