Philippine Air Force Receives 6 ScanEagle 2 Unmanned Aerial Systems, and Discussion of Existing and Future AFP UAS

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) finally formally received the Insitu ScanEagle small tactical Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) into the service on March 13, 2018. Based on the PAF's own public statements, they received 6 systems in a package worth US$13.76 from the US Department of Defense under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) scheme. The UAS were said to have been delivered on March 10, 2018.

The PAF formally accepted the ScanEagle 2 UAS into the service, which will be assigned with the 300th Air Intelligence and Security Wing.
Photo taken from Eunice Samonte / PTV FB page.

Among those present during the event held at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City were Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana, US Ambassador to the Philippine Sung Kim, and head of JUSMAG-Philippines, US Army Col. Ernest Lee.

The ScanEagle UAS were then handed-over to the 300th Air Intelligence and Security Wing, which is the unit handling surveillance and intelligence gathering assets of the PAF, including the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ISR aircraft.

MaxDefense believes that the contract cost of US$13.76 million also includes the training of the flight operators, ground crew, and maintenance personnel, and others aside from the actual unit cost of the systems.

The statement coming for the PAF's Public Information Office as provided during the official handover ceremonies.
Photo taken from Nikko Dizon / Inquirer.net.

First of: UAS vs UAV:

Before we proceed, MaxDefense wants to make use of the opportunity to discuss the difference. What is a UAS, and what is the difference with UAV.

Umanned Aerial System (UAS) is the complete set, that combines individual pieces of equipment into a "system" that works together. This includes the Unammed Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which  is the actual drone, the flying platform, the most obvious piece of equipment of the system; plus other equipment like the ground station which controls the UAV in its flight and picks-up the information being seen by the UAV; the launching system which puts the UAV into flight; and the recovery system which allows the UAV to safely land in the absence of rolling landing or vertical landing capability.

A UAS includes the drone (the UAV), the ground station, launching system and recovery system. Shown on the photo are the ScanEagle 2 UAV and the ground station trailers.
Credits to owner of photo.

ScanEagle 2 UAS:

Based on the photos coming out from the event, the PAF actually received the newer ScanEagle 2, which is a newer model from the ScanEagle family. According to Insitu, the ScanEagle 2 is improved compared to the older models by having more payload capability and power, and allows the integration of better sensors. It is also said to have better endurance despite the heavier payload.

Physical differences between the ScanEagle 2 and the older ScanEagle include the bulbous head that houses the sensors being carried 

According to Insitu, the ScanEagle 2 retains the same wingspan as the older model at 3.2 meters, but the new UAV is heavier and can carry 3.5 kilograms of equipment, up by an additional 100 grams of payload compared to the older model. The drone is also using a reciprocating combustion engine technology, and can take gasoline or heavier aviation fuel. The ScanEagle 2 also has a vertical fin just on top of its rear engine, something that is not present in the older variant.

The ScanEagle 2 does not carry air-launched munitions, and was designed for surveillance use only.

The statements coming out from the DND and PAF mentioned that the ScanEagle 2 UAV are capable of flying up to 24 hours non-stop. If MaxDefense may add, this depends also on the payload being carried. Other sources also confirmed that the ScanEagle 2 has a less endurance than the older variants, with only a flight endurance of 16 hours instead of 24 hours. So this needs to be reconfirmed as the PAF may have use the data from the older ScanEagle for their statements.

The ScanEagle 2 can provide 100W to 150W of power to its sensor payloads, plus the Ethernet-based architecture and reduction of Electronic Magnetic Interference. This allows the ScanEagle 2 to carry more sophisticated equipment, including a fully digital video system, compared to the older variant.

The PAF showed probably what composed 1 system, which includes 4 ScanEagle 2 UAVs.
Photo taken from Nikko Dizon / Inquirer.net.

The PAF was said to have received 6 units, which might be misinterpreted by people who are unfamiliar with the system. The PAF actually received 6 SYSTEMS, and based on similar contracts made with Insitu, 6 systems is indeed closer to the US$13.76 million contract cost, compared to 6 units, which would not cost as high as the contract amount.

Based on the photos from the event, a ScanEagle 2 UAS (the system) probably includes the a Ground Station, at least 4 ScanEagle 2 UAVs, a

The ScanEagle 2 UAS' Mk. 1 Mod. 2 Skyhook recovery system, which is used to safely recover a flying ScanEagle 2 UAV.
Photo taken from Nikko Dizon / Inquirer.net.

Other Current and Future UAS in AFP:

The Philippine Air Force is expected to receive more sophisticated Unmanned Aerial Systems in the near future, with the ScanEagle 2 being the initial system being introduced to the services. These systems will assist the PAF's current and future manned aircraft fleet which includes the still non-moving Long Range Patrol Aircraft and the future Command and Control aircraft that would be introduced to the PAF hopefully within the Horizon 2 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program (RAFPMP).

There is also a persistent rumor that the Philippine Air Force operated 2 General Atomics RQ-1 Predator drones for the Office of the President, but were flown by US military. No confirmation on this one, although there are reports that 1 of the drones crashed and there is only 1 RQ-1 left.

The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) actually has a similar system that they are using for target acquisition and surveillance, the Marine Forces Imagery and Targeting Support System (MITSS), which was acquired by the PMC under its Horizon 1 modernization phase and delivered in 2017. The PMC received 6 unmanned systems plus 2 spare systems, with 3 MAG Aerospace Super Swiper II UAVs in each system, for a total of 24 UAVs, plus supporting equipment including a Brigade Combat Operations Center and Brigade Mobile ISR Integration Kits.

The PMC's MITSS, based on the MAG Aerospace Super Swiper II UAV, was displayed during AFP Day last December 2017. The Super Swiper II is actually in the same category as the ScanEagle 2, although payload-wise the ScanEagle 2 is said to be better.
Photo taken from Presidential Communcations Office.

In addition, the PMC has 1 system (with 3 drones) of the smaller AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven man-launched mini UAS provided by the US Department of Defense in January 2017. These are small UAVs that can be used by small field units. MaxDefense believes this is just an initial delivery for training purposes, with more of these requested by the PMC from the US. Additional units may be provided again under the US Military Assistance that the Philippines annually receives.

The RQ-11 Raven being explained by US Marines to their Filipino counterparts during a Joint Military Exercise a few years ago. The PMC operates at least 1 system with 3 drones.
Photo taken from the US Department of Defense.

The Philippine Navy is also reported to be testing ScanEagle UAS since last year, with sources saying that the PN successfully tested a few of them in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija last year and were already testing them for ship operations. No confirmation though if they are just test units while more units were reportedly coming up soon.

The Philippine Army currently only operates a few locally-made UAVs, some of which were seen in action during the Zamboanga City siege in 2013. But this will change as the Army is preparing the acquisition of three types of UAS under its Horizon 2 modernization program, categorised as Tiers 1, 2 and 3 and vary is size and range or endurance. This would be discussed further in future blog entries here @ MaxDefense.

The Aeronautics Orbiter III is among those being considered by the Philippine Army for their Tier II (mid-level) UAS requirements. It is competing with 2 other systems. It was seen here during a demonstration held last April 2017 in Clark.
Photo exclusively provided to MaxDefense by our sources.

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Philippine Air Force to Procure Elbit's Hermes 900 Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV Under Horizon 2 Phase

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been for some time always at the mercy of other allies to provide military assistance in times of crisis. With the Marawi City crisis already more than 2 months, the AFP has called on the United States and Australia to provide surveillance and intelligence gathering assistance for the AFP, which translated to the deployment of US Navy P-3C and Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orions, as well as several RQ-20 Puma small UAVs from the US Special Operations Forces in the Philippines. 

It was made known by a solicitation posted by the US Navy in one of its websites that the Philippines is not new to drone operations, being an operator of the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle small UAV system for quite some time now. It was also noted in many occassions that the AFP is in possession of other UAV systems like the locally made Raptor and Knight Faclon which were used during the Zamboanga Crisis as well as newly delivered RQ-11B Raven small UAVs to the Philippine Marine Corps.

There are also unconfirmed but possibly true reports that the Philippines, with the tutelage of the US Armed Forces, acquired two General Atomics RQ-1 Predator UAVs more than a decade ago, although one was said to have been lost in a crash years ago.

These show that the AFP has seen the use of drones as an effective way of gathering information, and providing support to military forces. But never did we expect something big coming until lately.

The Hermes 900 from Elbit Systems.
Credits to owner of photo.

A photo of an unnamed large Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flying "somewhere in Luzon" was first posted by Pinoy Aviators' Facebook page mid July 2017, which was shared by our community members to MaxDefense for further dissemination to more people. This was met with positive acceptance from the general Filipino public, with many calling for its acquisition.

This was further boosted by news from Flight Global, confirming that Elbit Systems has indeed brought in a Hermes 900 medium altitude, long endurance (MALE) UAV to the Philippines for demonstration. MaxDefense received documents confirming that a Hermes 900 demonstrator was sent in by Elbit Systems, conducted Demonstration Flights at the vicinity of Fernando Air Base in Lipa, Batangas between July 17 to 26, 2017. This was corraborated further by our last post of a Hermes 900 inside a hangar at Fernando Air Base with a high ranking AFP officer with it. said to be taken a day before we posted in @ MaxDefense Philippine group page.

The Hermes 900 as seen here in Fernando Air Base in Batangas (erroneously reported in our Facebook page as Clark Air Base), during its demonstrations for the Armed Forces of the Philippines last July 2017.
Credits to owner of the photo which will need to remain anonymous.

Under Horizon 1 Phase of the AFP Modernization Program, there were no mention of any unmanned aerial vehicle acquisition project in several AFPMP updates and documents received by MaxDefense in the last 1 year except for the Marine Forces Imagery and Targeting Support System (MITSS) awarded to Triton Communications and scheduled for delivery this year. That is why MaxDefense was surprised when a new update was made mentioning the acquisition of what is coined as the "PAF Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" project coinciding with the appearance of the Hermes 900 in the Philippines.

MaxDefense is grateful to its sources for being able to get enough information to confirm that the Philippine Air Force is in the process of acquiring long endurance drones, specifically the Elbit Systems Hermes 900 UAV under the above mentioned project, with a budget amounting to Php 8,470,000,000.00 (US$167.722 million at today's rate).

The Hermes 900 was seen here flying "somewhere in Luzon" last July 2017. MaxDefense believes this is somewhere in Batangas-Laguna area near Fernando Air Base where the demonstrations were made by Elbit Systems to the AFP and other armed services of the government like the Philippine National Police.
Photo taken and credited to Pinoy Aviators' Facebook page.

The Hermes 900 UAV:

Elbit Systems' Hermes 900 is their most advanced UAV on offer, and among Israel's most advanced UAV system. It is described as a medium altitude, long endurance UAV platform that is capable of, and quoting Elbit's own description, "over-the-horizon, persistent multi-mission, multi-payload capabilities" and also "performing missions for area dominance and persistent ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance)".

The Hermes 900 can also be used for surveillance and maritime patrol missions, which was actually the configuration initially offered by Elbit Systems to the Philippine Air Force during ADAS 2014.

Due to its large size and its capacity to carry up to 350 kilograms of payload, the UAV can be equipped with EO/IR/Laser Tracking and Targeting System, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI), Communication Intelligence (COMINT), Communication Jamming (COMJAM), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Electronic Warfare (EW), and other payloads.

The Hermes 900 has an endurance of up to 36 hours, and service ceiling of 30,000 feet. Considering that these are the posted figures by Elbit Systems, expect the actual endurance and service ceiling to be greater than that.

Among the countries that use the Hermes 900 are Israel, Chile, Mexico, and recently Switzerland acquired 6 units to replace older and less capable UAVs in their fleet. Should the PAF acquire this, they will be in possession of the most capable UAV system in the region.

The Hermes 900 as seen here (illustration, not actual photo) conducting maritime patrol missions. This same photo was posted by MaxDefense in 2015 to describe the PAF's Flight Plan 2028.
Photo taken from Elbit System's website.

Working System:

Being from the same family of UAVs employing the same characteristics and systems, both the Hermes 900 and the smaller Hermes 450 can work together simultaneously, and can be operated almost seamlessly. They are operated on a Universal Ground Control Station, and includes other systems like a Ground Data Terminal and Ground Support Equipment as part of the package.

Both UAVs are designed to be operated by a relatively small crew and a small logistics footprint feature. It is advanced enough to also have greater autonomy with need for minimal supervision from controllers, and its flight path can be set with multiple options available.

It also has autonomous take-off and landing capabilities which will make it easier for controllers to safely operate.

As mentioned by our sources, despite being large enough to carry small precision guided munitions, the Hermes 900 is not configured for attack missions. Thus any strike mision would be handled by the PAF's Close Air Support aircraft (OV-10 and hopefully EMB-314 Super Tucano), Attack Helicopters (AW-109E, MD-520MG and another helicopter model that will arrive early next year and MaxDefense will decline to name for now as requested by PAF sources), Surface Attack Aircraft (FA-50PH), and the future Multi-Role Fighter will be conducting.

A typical ground control station used by the Hermes 450 UAV. It is possible that the Hermes 900 may use a similar system due to its development based on the Hermes 450.
Photo taken from Israe Weapons website.

UAV Acquisitions for the Philippine Air Force:

The Philippine Air Force has a requirement for what it calls the Land-Based Unmanned Aerial System which is a joint project with the General Headquarters, Armed Forces of the Philippines (GHQ-AFP). Based on the latest version of the Horizon 2 phase list submitted to Malacanang, the requirement is for at least 8 systems, although it was not specified what type.

The intention of the UAV acquisition is to provide maritime and ground surveillance requirements and would be working together with the Long Range Patrol Aircraft (LRPA), which the first two units are still pending acquisition after a second bidding failure recently. It is expected to be operated by the 300th Air Intelligence and Security Group.

It would also be part of the AFP's C4ISTAR system, thus the joint acquisition with GHQ-AFP.

Originally it was not the intention to front-load the Land-Based UAS acquisition due to other compelling needs in the AFP. But the thread of terrorism including the Marawi City crisis and ISIS-related threats, narcotics trade and proliferation and cross-border crime and terrorism has given the Philippine government a reason to push through with the acquisition to provide the AFP with sufficient surveillance capabilities. The delays on the LRPA project did not help the situation either.

The current project, now simply called PAF Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, is among the first Horizon 2 projects to be implemented for acquisition and has an allocated budget of Php 8.47 billion.

MaxDefense sources made it known that the project, in close coordination with Israel's Ministry of Defense, considered only Israeli-made UAVs which included Elbit's Hermes 450 and Hermes 900, and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron 1. In the end, the PAF chose the Hermes 900, the newest and most capable of the choices. The demonstration of the Hermes 900 UAVs last July 2017 in Fernando Air Base, Batangas, culminated the decision to choose the Hermes 900 and to approve its acquisition.

Four UAVs are to be acquired under Horizon 2 phase, and it appears that based on the quantity and ABC, each complete set of Hermes 900 including the undetermined sensors package, integrated logistics support (ILS), training, support equipment and other ancillaries will cost around Php 2.12 billion (US$41.93 million) each. This means that the Hermes 900 will cost more than the PAF's FA-50PH Fighting Eagle!

In comparison, MaxDefense sources confirmed that three (3) Hermes 450 can be acquired for Php 1 billion as of 2012, but considering inflation and cost escalations, we believe that the price may be somewhere near Php 400 million each for the Hermes 450 by now.

Elbit Systems first offered the Hermes 900 during ADAS 2014 as a maritime patrol solution for the country, although they have been offering the smaller Hermes 450 to the PAF since 2012.

The acquisition will be a Government-to-Government (G-to-G) with the State of Israel, which means that no more bidding will be made for this acquisition. Based on latest information, the approval from the Secretary of National Defense was only made on the 3rd week of July 2017, and was submitted for approval by President Duterte on the same week. It is expected that the President will approve it since he mentioned about the acquisition a few days later, which was picked up by some media outlets.




Absorption and Integration into the PAF and AFP:

MaxDefense believes this is the main concern on bringing in the Hermes family of UAVs, especially the Hermes 900.

Except for the reported Boeing Insitu ScanEagles in PAF service, which MaxDefense sources from even those involved in the Philippine Air Force's surveillance systems itself cannot confirm to be available, the PAF never had a UAV of the same size and capability as the Hermes 900, or even the smaller Hermes 450. If the ScanEagles aren't even really available, then the concept of UAV operations might be something the PAF is not really experienced and familiar with yet.

Despite some MaxDefense sources corraborating the reported ScanEagle UAVs in PAF service since some years ago, its still a shady and difficult to really confirm. So its also difficult to say if the PAF really has experience in operating drones, however simpler they are compared to the Hermes 900.
Credits to owner of photo.

So the ability of the PAF to absorb the new assets will be something worth looking at. How much support will Israel or Elbit Systems provide to the PAF to allow the smooth transition of PAF UAV operators to the platform? And how much time does it need for the PAF to be fully operational with these UAVs?

A good example can be seen on a neighbouring country, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), who has the most experience in ASEAN in operating drones as well as manned patrol aircraft. But based on open sources, it took them almost 5 years to be fully operational with their Heron 1 UAVs, despite operating smaller UAVs like the IAI Searcher since 1994. The IAI Heron 1, also from Israel, are slotted somewhere between the Hermes 450 and Hermes 90 in terms of size, endurance, payload and overall capability.

Meanwhile, the PAF has no operating manned surveillance aircraft with sensors except for the FLIRs mounted on the newly acquired AW-109E Power armed helicopters that the PAF has only been operating for 2 years. Also, RSAF has a more stringent training system and more experience than the PAF and yet it took them that long to attain that status.

It would be very disappoiting if the PAF won't be able to maximize the capability of its drones, or worse, damage or destroy them in an accident due to lack of experience.



Decision to go for a Single Platform:

No doubt the Hermes 900 is expensive, and only four units can be acquired with the budget allocated by the PAF. So is it really reasonable to just go for the Hermes 900?

MaxDefense's suggestion is to divide the acquisition to both the Hermes 450 and Hermes 900, as both systems are made to conduct different types of missions. Instead of 4 Hermes 900, MaxDefense recommends to acquire only 3 Hermes 900s, while converting the budget to buy the 4th unit to pay for the acquisition of the smalller, cheaper Hermes 450. Based on the above quotes we posted, at least 5 units of Hermes 450 can be bought for the same price as a single Hermes 900.

The Hermes 900, having more endurance, can be used to patrol the West and East Philippine Seas, as well as other areas in the country's EEZ. Meanwhile, the smaller Hermes 450 can be used for surveillance missions closer to ground, like in conflict areas like Marawi City, and in hunting terrorists in Mindanao and even other parts of the country.

Being from the same manufacturer and developed based on a single system, operating both the Hermes 450 and Hermes 900 would not be difficult as it would be almost seamless to cross over to the each other.

Compared to the newer Hermes 900, the Hermes 450 has been in service for more than a decade now and has been used in combat missions in the Middle East. Its been used by Israel, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Mexico, the UK (under the Watchkeeper Program), US Homeland Security, and closer to home, Singapore.

The Elbit Hermes 450, which is among those offered by Elbit Systems to the Philippine Air Force.
Credits to owner of photo.

Other Concerns:

MaxDefense recently reported that the re-tender for the Long Range Patrol Aircraft (LRPA) project has failed, with sources from the PAF and industry confirming that many of the interested proponents found the Approved Budget for Contract to be very low, and is simply not enough to acquire an aircraft with all the bells and whistles the PAF is requesting.

As of last week, MaxDefense was told that the PAF has yet to find a source for the additional budget for them to confidently start direct negotiations with interested proponents.

Instead of pouring too much on UAVs, is it not more practical to reduce the UAV budget and provide a little more for the LRPA project for it to start? Or is it more practical to use the budget to buy more LRPA instead?

The PAF wanted an ASW-capable Long Range Patrol Aircraft and has actually shown obvious preference to Airbus' C-295ASW, but budget is not enough. So why not more LRPAs by using some of the UAV budget?
Photo from Airbus' website.

Another issue is the wisdom of acquiring itself, isnthe Hermes 900 really the best choice for the Philippine Air Force?

Other UAV options are also available which, aside from surveillance capability, also can carry and fire small precision guided munitions for the same price as the Hermes 900. This includes the IAI Eitan (aka Heron TP), which can carry around 1,000 kilograms of precision guided munitions at almost the same price as the Hermes 900. Did the PAF consider them since they are also interested in acquiring Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) in the near future?

IAI's Eitan (aka Heron TP) is said to be priced similarly as the Hermes 900 and has almost the same capability except for also being capable of strike missions with its ability to carry and fire PGMs.
Credits to owner of photo.

There are other possible concerns that MaxDefense originally wanted to touch but decided not to (for now) until more information becomes available to us. It would be best to let the project take its course trusting the decision making of the Philippine Air Force and the AFP as a whole, considering this project was approved by Senior Leaders of the AFP and DND.

Nonetheless, any acquisition by the PAF of additional assets including medium altitude long endurance UAV platforms like the Hermes 900 is a welcome news, and would provide a leapfrog in capability and experience for the Philippine Air Force.

In the near future, MaxDefense will also be discussing the upcoming Philippine Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle acquisition project, which is running almost simultaneously with the PAF's project.

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New 81mm Mortars and UAV Confirmed with the Philippine Army

The 78th Anniversary and Thanksgiving celebrations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last December 20, 2013 confirmed 2 new systems with the Philippine Army (PA). These are the newly acquired 81mm Mortars and Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). Both projects were realized under the AFP Modernization Program and were quietly commissioned in the past.

President Aquino inspecting the new equipment of the AFP, which includes the Philippine Army's 81mm mortars & Unmanned Aerial Systems. Also displayed by the PA are its Garmin handheld GPS and M4 rifles.
Photo taken from GMA News website.

MaxDefense will discuss the 2 projects in this blog:

1. New M69B 81mm Mortar
The Department of National Defense (DND)_released an Invitation to Bid on November 2010, for a new project called 81mm Mortar Acquisition Project with project number AFPMP-G-PA-10-004. This project involves the acquisition of 100 new 81mm mortars, and 2,000 rounds of 81mm mortar ammunition. The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of this project is Php 190,320,000.00, with the mortar worth Php 170,320,000 while the ammunition is worth Php 20,000,000.00.

The M69B 81mm mortars displayed during the AFP's 78th Anniversary.
Photo taken from Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas' Facebook page.

Only 1 company, a joint venture of Joavi Philippines Corp. and Israeli firm Talon Secuirty Consulting and Trade Ltd. (Talon) submitted a bid worth Php 189,500,000.00. Interesting is the background of Talon which was also involved in a controversial deal for mortar ammunition with the AFP in 2009, which they were cleared later on. They were also involved in a controversial arms trade in Iraq by being the agent of defense companies in Serbia and Montenegro. This is probably the connection that was also used in winning the 81mm Mortar Acquistion Project, wherein the joint venture of Joavi and Talon offered the M69B from Serbia.

The M69B mortar during tests prior to delivery.
Photo taken from the PARDC Facebook page.

The Yugoslavian M69 was originally designed as an 82mm mortar for the Yugoslav People's Army. Upon the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 90s, most of the country's former states like Serbia and Bosnia brought with them the industry, technical know-how, and skill to make arms and weaponry. With the democratization of these former Yugoslav states, arms standardization slowly leaned towards NATO's own standard, which eventually affected the production of the M69 mortar. An 81mm NATO-compatible version was built, designated as M69B, which is the same model offered to the Philippine Army. 

The original M69 mortar uses a 82mm caliber, non-NATO compliant version. A NATO-compatible version, the M69B, is the model sold to the Philippine Army.
Photo taken from Krusik Holdings Corp. website.

According to media reports, the mortars were supplied by a Serbian company to the Joavi-Talon joint venture. MaxDefense also initially taught it was Serbian, being the dominant Yugoslav state and home to most of the former Yugoslavia's defense manufacturing sector. But a MaxDefense source involved in the actual transaction and testing of the mortars confirmed that the mortars were actually made by a Bosnian company, BNT-Tvornica Masina i Hidraulike, d.d (BNT-TMiH), based in Novi Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This company actually made the mortar's major components like the barrel, breech, breech block and the undercarriage, and also make mortar and artillery components for other major manufacturers from other Western countries. This company is also the manufacturer of the 155mm howitzer being offered by Joavi Philippines to the DND as part of the 155mm Howitzer Acquisition Project previously discussed in an earlier MaxDefense blog. In turn, this company's products were marketed internationally by a Serbian defense marketing agent which has the connections to the Israeli company. So to those asking, that was the reason why these mortars are actually Bosnian.

The M69B is among the products produced by Bosnian company BNT-TMiH.
Photo taken from BNT-TMiH company website.

Meanwhile, the M72 81mm mortar High Explosive (HE) ammunition are made in Serbia. 

The 81mm Mortar Acquisition Project suffered a setback in for more than a year until the project was again continued, with the DND signing a contract with the Joavi-Talon joint venture for the delivery of 100 units of M69B 81mm mortars. Field testing of the mortars and ammunition was done at Crow Valley, Tarlac on June 2013. According to the Philippine Army's spokesman, all have been delivered and were distributed to all infantry divisions..




2. Philippine Army Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
Another item displayed in the anniversary celebrations are the Philippine Army's Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), which are actually small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) developed by the Philippine Army Research and Development Center. (PARDC).

The Philippine Army's UAS displayed during the AFP's 78th Anniversary celebrations.
Photo taken from Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas' Facebook page.

Although there is little information about these UAS, the PA claims that the Raptor and Knight Falcon (as they are called) UAS are capable of providing real time imagery and video feed from a distance of 3km to 7km, and has an endurance of 3 hours. According to the PA, these UAS will complements their existing Human Intelligence (HUMINT) and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities, and can also be used in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. 

MaxDefense previously posted a photo of the Raptor in action during the Zamboanga City crisis last September, 2013. The army claims that this is the first time they actually used the UAS in action.

From a simple look at the display, it appears that the drones look like commercial-designed models, specifically the Skywalker remote control aircraft used by hobbyists and commercial UAV operators. It is a simple and sturdy design, probably the reason why the PARDC chose this specific model as a platform for the army's UAS. The army quotes the Raptor at Php 150,000.00 each, while the Knight Falcon, although it looks similar to the Raptor, costs higher at Php 300,000.00. This is cheap compared to most military UAV systems used by other countries. Reportedly another larger, more advanced version is being developed and may cost at Php 1.5 million.

According to the Philippine Army, news reports and the Philippine Drones blog, the drones are said to carry a 12 megapixel camera capable of snapshots and video, and weighs at around 2.1 kilograms. It has a wingspan of 178 centimeters (1.78 meters) and can fly at an altitude of 1,000 feet. It's propulsion is an electric brush-less motor powered by lithium-polymer battery packs. Surprisingly, the entire autopilot system is probably Chinese-made, with a FeiyuTech UAV GPS capable autopilot system with radio datalink, ground station control software is FYGCS by Feiyu Electronics running on Windows-7, and a video link using FeiyuTech Hornet on screen display.

The UAS' ground station and autopilot program displayed during the AFP's 78th Anniversary celebrations.
Photo taken from Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas' Facebook page.

Both the army's mortar and UAS acquisitions are very important, as it improves the overall combat capability of the organization. MaxDefense believes that these are initial acquisitions, and follow-on orders or development may follow later on upon availability of more funds from the national government (as in the case of the UAS, it's a project that is continuously improving). 

The appearance of these items in the PA's capability list only shows that the modernization program is moving without the public knowing too much. It proves that modernization programs not being reported publicly does not mean there's no movement on the program at all.

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