Philippine Army to Acquire Night Fighting Systems to Improve its Night Fighting Capabilities.

On March 31, 2015, the Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) has recently completed the pre-bid conference for the Night Fighting System (NFS) Acquisition Project for the Philippine Army (PA). The turnout of interested entities was very good, with a mixture of local and foreign companies showing up, although it is expected that not all will be participating in submitting a bid once the bid submission proceeds, depending on their capability to supply the products, meet the deadline, and meet the profit they require.

The Invitation to Bid released by the DND recently indicates that the PA will be acquiring 4,464 sets of the NFS, probably bound for the PA's Special Operations Command (SOCOM), with an Approved Budget for Contract (ABC) worth Php 1.116 billion. The winning bidder must deliver the products within 180 calendar days (6 months), consisting of Night Vision Monocular that can be mounted on helmet and individual weapon, an Infrared Aiming Device to be mounted on the weapon, and a Laser Zeroing Device for calibrating the aiming devices.

NVD product displayed by UDMC & Nivisys during last year's ADAS 2014 Defense Exhibition.
Photo taken from UDMC's website.

These system gives the infantry the capability to fight at night or in low light environments, which is crucial for Special Operations and to give superior advantage against enemy forces without such capability like the insurgency and terrorist forces operating within the country.

The Philippine Army have limited numbers of night fighting systems, and are mostly confined to the PA's SOCOM operators. Four thousand sets is enough to provide an entire brigade with the system for each operator, and enabling the PA to distribute its older systems to other field units that may require such equipment.




1. Nightline Inc.
The Texas-based company is no stranger to the DND and Philippine Army. They previously supplied the PA with 2,351 M914A monocular night vision devices for the Special Operations Command. The M914A is a variant of the US military-spec AN/PVS-14 which is the most common NVD in the US military today.

It is expected that Nightline will be offering their most common products: for the Night Vision Monocular, they might offer either the NL914A (which is similar to the M914A they supplied before), or their newer NL914B which can be powered by either 3 standard 1.5V AA batteries, or a single 3V CR123 battery.

Nightline's NL914B, which is an enhanced version of the types used by the PA's SOCOM.
Photo taken from Nightline's website.

For the Infrared Aiming Device, they currently offer 3 types, the DBAL-A2, DBAL-A3 and the DBAL-I2. The DBAL-A2 is the same as the US Military AN/PEQ-15A), while the DBAL-A3 is an enhanced version which includes dual remote cable ports. Meanwhile, the larger DBAL-I2 is an older model, a variant of the US Military AN/PEQ-2A which is being used by the Philippine Army.

Nightline's DBAL-A3 infrared aiming device.
Photo taken from Nightline's website.

For the Laser Zeroing Device, Nightline offers the MBS-AA & MBS-1WE borelights. The MBS-AA is more suitable for rifles and machine guns, while the smaller MBS-1WE is applicable for pistols and rifles.

MaxDefense expects Nightline to offer the NL914B, DBAL-A2, and the MBS-AA for this project.



2. United Defense Manufacturing Corporation (UDMC) - Nivisys LLC Partnership:
Local firm UDMC has been actively promoting its products for the past few years, and its partnership with American company Nivisys LLC might be a big break for them. UDMC does not make their own night vision devices, but Nivisys is a known manufacturer of such products. Both companies were present in last year's ADAS 2014 defense exhibition.

A PAF Staff Sergeant inspecting UDMC-Nivisys' weapon mounted NVD systems mounted on an AR-15 type rifle during last year's ADAS 2014 defense exhibition.
Photo taken from UDMC's website.

Nivisys'product line include their version of the AN/PVS-14A monocular NVD, and they have larger weapon mounted systems like the AN/PVS-22 and AN/PVS-27. Another is the MUM-14, which is smaller and simpler than the rest of the product line. For the infrared aiming device, Nivisys offers the GCP-2 IR tactical aimer/pointer which can be hand-held or mounted on individual and crew-served weapons.

MaxDefense believes that UDMC-Nivisys may offer the AN/PVS-14A and GCP-2 to the DND.



3. Intertrade Asia Pacific Corp. - Theon Sensors S.A. Partnership
MaxDefense believes that they were wrong named in the recent news report on this project, and MaxDefense has reasons to believe that the company they meant was Greek company Theon Sensors S.A.

Theon offers several types of monocular NVD under the NX-122 series. The latest version is the NX-122C, might be the best they can offer to the DND. 

Theon Sensor's NX-122C monocular night vision device.
Photo taken from Theon Sensors S.A.'s website.

Their website didn't indicate any product offering for the infrared aiming device and the laser zeroing device, which is part of the entire system. It could either be they will be supplying the product made by another company, or they will going with a collaboration with a company that manufacturers MILSPEC laser devices.




4. Armasight Enterprises
This company, based in the United States, provides a wide variety of night vision systems and accessories, and focuses entirely on similar systems unlike its other larger competitors. They pride themselves of having people with experience to NVS, with staff being previous employees of larger companies or competitors.

Armasight's PVS-14, which comes in different versions as listed in their product website.
Photo from Armasight's website.

They also have their own versions of the AN/PVS-14 which appears to also be their main product line of monocular night vision goggles. Their infrared aiming devices offered include the Drakos and Drakos 2, which have similarities to the AN/PEQ-15 used by the US Military.




5. Exelis Inc.
American company Exelis Inc. is a leading defense and security company, with several offerings on their product lines including several variants of night vision devices. 

Their most common is their version of the AN/PVS-14, and a lesser capable but probably cheaper variant which they call the Night Enforcer PVS-14 used for law enforcement duties. Not much information is available though if they have their own manufactured Infrared Aiming Device and Laser Zeroing Devices.



6. System Nomics Philippines Inc. - Aselsan A.S. 
Local company System Nomics Philippines will be fronting for the Turkey's largest defense company Aselsan A.S. Aselsan produces different night vision products although MaxDefense believes their strength lies on military electronics and munition systems. 

Aselsan manufactures their license copy of the AN/PVS-18 / M983 NVD (above).
Photo taken from L-3's website.

Aselsan manufactures the A100 monocular NVD, and license built copies of the M983 and M983A monocular systems based on the L-3 Warrior Systems AN/PVS-18. No information though if Aselsan manufactures infrared aiming and laser zeroing devices. 

Not much information is available though if they have their own manufactured Infrared Aiming Device and Laser Zeroing Devices. But it is possible for System Nomics to acquire these items from a different manufacturer.



7. Spartans 3 Trading Corporation:
This is the first time MaxDefense heard about this company. According to its official website, it appears to be a Filipino company whose expertise is supplying rescue and safety equipment, and traffic equipment and accessories rather than night vision equipment or firearms. 

Their website didn't list any night vision equipment in their line of products, so it would be difficult for MaxDefense to determine what they will be offering. Definitely they will either be sourcing this from a night vision system manufacturer, or they have partnered with one and will act as a local sales representative.



8. Elbit Systems:
This large Israeli defense company has been actively participating in several major AFP projects, with the most recent being the 155mm Towed Howitzer project. Through their subsidiary Elbit Systems - ITL, have several products that they could offer.

There's the Mini N/SEAS which can be used as a monocular or binocular by combining 2 similar units together, or the newer and more compact XACT-NV32 mirco compact night vision monocular. This was only released by ITL in 2012, and is among the newest model in the possible offerings.

Elbit Systems - ITL Mini N/SEAS (above) and the XACT-NV32 (below).
Photos taken from Specshop Poland and ASD News websites, respectively.

For the laser aiming device, they might be offering the AIM family, specifically the AIM 1-SLR. It appears to be smaller than most offerings that follow the US AN/PEQ-2 model, and can be mounted on AFP-standard weapons like the M16 and M4 family.





As MaxDefense does not have a copy of the Technical Specifications on this project yet, we can only assume that these are among the possible products the bidders may offer. It is also still unclear who among those who went to the pre-bid conference will continue on and submit a bid on the bid submission date, which is now rescheduled to May 28, 2015 after requests from the bidders to extend the deadline.

MaxDefense is hoping for a very competitive bidding for this project as the number of bidders and the big names involved suggest the strong interest in this project. It would be best if the DND and PA chose not only according to the pricing, but also checking the reliability and lifespan of these products.

This blog entry will now serve as the update page on this project, and all news reports or new information regarding this project will be posted at the update section of this entry.



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UPDATES:
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August 19, 2016:

MaxDefense was given confirmation by sources from the Philippine Army that the acqusiition of 4,464 sets of Night Fighting System was awarded to Aselsan Elektronik Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. of Turkey, after being declared as the lowest calculated responsive bidder. Their bid amount was Php 712.069 million, or almost Php 404 million lower than the Approved Budget of Contact (ABC) of Php 1.116 billion.

The contact was already approved by the DND and Philippine Army, with the Notice to Proceed already released as of July 2016. It is expected that the partial deliveries will start by 2nd quarter of 2017, while the balance will be delivered by either 4th quarter of 2017 or 1st quarter of 2018, subject to the opening of Letter of Credit.

It was previously reported in the news last January 2016 that Aselsan was declared the lowest bidder by the DND, although the report erroneously claimed that Aselsan does not have experience in manufacturing night vision equipment, which is not the case as shown on the example MaxDefense made on its blog entry (see above). A more realistic statement is that Night Fighting System is not the core competency of Aselsan, but they do have experience in manufacturing such systems.

MaxDefense will be providing future updates regarding this project as information comes in. For more information, please read the blog entry from the top.

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Updates on the 155mm Towed Howitzer with Ammunition Acquisition Project (Horizon 1) for the Philippine Army and Marine Corps

On February 2015, the Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) released a new Invitation to Bid for the 155mm Towed Howitzer with Ammunition acquisition project for the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps. This is actually the 3rd attempt to bid the project after the last attempt made last year failed after Elbit Systems Land & C4I failed to pass the post-bid qualifications. This is also the 3rd time that MaxDefense released a blog regarding the project with the 1st and 2nd bid attempt can be accessed HERE and HERE, respectively.

Elbit Systems Land & C4I of Israel previously won the tender to supply the 155mm Towed Howitzer and Ammunition. But was disqualified after failing the post-bid qualifications. They are expected to join the project bidding again this time.

The contract remains the same as the previous tender attempt, which includes the supply and delivery of 12 brand new 155mm towed howitzer systems, 240 rounds of high explosive (HE) cartridge, and an integrated logistics support (ILS) package for the entire system. The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) remains at Php 438,620,000.00. The pre-bid conference was scheduled last March 5, 2015, and the bid submission and opening was originally scheduled on March 19, 2015 but was moved to March 26, 2015 as per a new supplemental bid bulletin released on March 10, 2015.

So far, MaxDefense has not determined the interested bidders for the project, although it is expected that previous interested entities will be trying their chance to bag the project. This includes Elbit Systems Land & C4I, who won the tender last year but was eliminated after failing the post-bid qualifications. 

Among the requirements released by the DND are for the product to be in use with the origin country's armed forces or by at least 2 other foreign armed forces, and that the bidders must be the manufacturer of the goods (howitzer system and ammunition). Changes in the requirement now is that the bidders should have also completed a similar project within 5 years from date of submission of bid. Previously the requirement was for 10 years, which could have been one of the reasons why the previous tender was only participated by a few bidders, and probably also the reason why Elbit did not got the project.

A supplemental bid bulletin released on March 17, 2015 made changes also on the requirements regarding the major parts of the howitzer system. Previously the requirement allowed subcontracting to a number of parts except for the barrel, breach lock, and central structure of carriage. This requirement reinforces its earlier requirement that the bidder must be the manufacturer of the goods itself. 

MaxDefense hopes that many other suppliers that did not participate in the previous bid attempts, like Hyundai WIA and it's KH-179 towed howitzer, will participate this time.
Photo taken from KDN website.

Failure of bidding for this project will enable the DND to do a negotiated bid with possible suppliers, which was the same process applied with the acquisition of UH-1 helicopters for the Philippine Air Force.

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MaxDefense will be updating its readers on this project through this blog entry and at MaxDefense @ Facebook community page. It is expected that this project's bid submission and opening schedule will not move as much as the other projects of the DND. Hopefully more bidders will be interested in this project than before.



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UPDATES:
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April 4, 2015 (morning):
The DND released a Supplemental Bid Bulletin Nr. DND-PA/PMC-155-2015-003 last March 26, 2015, wherein there were changes on the specifications regarding the outsourcing of components, which now allows for all parts EXCEPT the barrel, breech block, and central structure of carriage. It also changed the bid submission and opening schedule from March 26, 2015 to April 14, 2015.

But due to the late release of this supplemental bid bulletin, it appears that the bidders did not know of the changes and 2 interested bidders, Elbit Systems Land & C4I of Israel and local company Stone of David, were present last March 26. MaxDefense is still confirming if the claim of an anonymous reader that Stone of David made known their intention to drop out of the contest last March 26, and only Elbit Systems Land & C4I is the only firm bidder that remain in the contest. Otherwise, the bid submission and opening on April 14 appears to be final. MaxDefense will closely monitor this project as it is already in its 3rd attempt, and any failure will allow the DND to go for a negotiated bid.



April 4, 2015 (afternoon):
It was confirmed by a source that Stone of David cancelled their participation in the 155mm Towed Howitzer Acquisition Project. Stone of David's principal for the 155mm Towed Howitzer, BNT-Tvornica Masina i Hidraulike, d.d. based in Bosnia-Hercegovina, provided 2 reasons for their cancellation:

1. The specified test and acceptance procedures indicated in the project's technical specifications "are not adaptable with the National Military Standard Testing Procedure being used (by their principal), BNT-TMiH".

2. Their principal for the 155mm HE ammunitions, Israel Military Industries (IMI), cannot open their production line as the quantity required by the contract is not within the acceptable quantity.

With this, then Elbit Systems Land & C4I remains the only other bidder for the project. It remains to be seen what will be the outcome of the bid opening on April 14, 2015, as anything can still happen if documentation becomes a problem again. MaxDefense hopes that there won't be any hook-ups from now on as the losing side on these delays are the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps, and the Filipino people in general.


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April 24, 2015:

This project has finally moved forward again, as the bid submission and opening proceeded last April 14, 2015. Only one proponent submitted their bid, Elbit Systems Land & C4I, as expected from our previous update due to the withdrawal of Stone of David-BNT-Tvornica Masina i Hidraulike. 


Elbit Systems was declared the single lowest calculated bidder with a bid amount of Php 410,849,184.00, with all their documents and requirements found to be complying to the tender requirements. Their offer is the Soltam M-71 39-caliber 155mm towed howitzer. According to MaxDefense sources, the budget allocated (ABC) for the project could not afford to acquire 12 units plus ammo of the Soltam Athos, which is the foremost 155mm towed howitzer product of Elbit Systems-Soltam and is more automated than the M-71.

Post bid qualifications is expected to be made soon in Israel by next month. If Elbit Systems passes the post bid qualifications, they can be awarded with the project and a contract may be signed soon.


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May 12, 2017:


Finally after several years, the first batch of 3 Soltam M-71 155mm towed howitzers were delivered to the Philippines, arriving on the last week of April 2017. MaxDefense received confirmation that the howitzers are now in Philippine Army custody and are being tested somewhere in Central Luzon. Ammunition and ILS-related parts were included in this delivery.

9 more units are for delivery in the next few months, with the Philippime Army receiving 6 units (1 battery), and the Philippine Marine Corps with 6 units (1 battery).The Philippine Army will be the first recepient of this delivery.

Despite being similar to the Soltam M-71 155mm towed howitzers already in service with the Philippine Army since 1978, the new units are provided with the following changes:

1. The Travel Lock is now located on one trail only;
2. The new guns are equipped with LED lights
3. Improvements were made on the Breech Opening Mechanism

Once the guns pass the acceptance tests, it will be formally handed over to the Philippine Army and commissioned.

MaxDefense will provide more updates once news becomes available.

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M113A2 for the Philippine Army from US Army and Elbit Systems Scheduled to Arrive this year

The Philippine Army is expected to start receiving M113A2 armored personnel carriers from the US. These are to be acquired via Excess Defense Article grants by the US government.

After more than a year of delays, MaxDefense received confirmation from its Philippine Army sources that they are already scheduled to complete all necessary approvals from the US and Philippine governments that will enable them to receive 114 units of the M113A2 tracked armored personnel carriers. These will be divided into several versions including armored recovery and command vehicles, but will mostly be the standard armored personnel carriers.

These are US Army stocks and will be provided to the Philippines as Excess Defense Article (EDA) Grant by the US government. The beneficiary unit in the Philippine Army is the Mechanized Infantry Division (MID), who are currently operating the older M113A1 armored vehicles and its derivatives, the FMC Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the Turkish ACV-300. This will enable the MID to increase its order of battle with more tracked units, while releasing more of their wheeled armored vehicles for smaller cavalry units.

Philippine Army personnel inspecting the M113A2 stored in a US Army facility 2 years ago. These are among those scheduled for transfer to the Philippine Army.
Photo taken from Mechanized Infantry Division, Philippine Army website.

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Aside from these armored vehicles from the US, another batch of M113A2 refurbished and upgraded by Elbit Systems Land and C4I of Israel will start deliveries also within this year. The contract for the project was awarded to Elbit in mid-2014, and they are given a year to deliver the said armored vehicles which falls to around middle of 2015.

Elbit Systems Land and C4I of Israel will supply upgraded M113A2 armored vehicles with Remote Weapons Systems.

This batch is composed of 14 fire support vehicles with the FV101 Scorpion's turret, 4 with 25mm cannon in remote weapons station (RWS), and 10 with 12.7mm machine gun in RWS.

MaxDefense previously discussed about this upcoming acquisition in a previous blog entry, seen HERE. More on this will be discussed should additional information be made available.

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PAF's Long Range Patrol Aircraft - Tech Specs, Post-Bidding Report and Updated Analysis

The Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) released a Supplemental Bid Bulletin dated July 24, 2014 for the Philippine Air Force's (PAF) Long Range Patrol Aircraft Aquisition Project. It included the initial technical specifications, which would be the basis for the 1st stage of the 2-stage bidding for the project.

A Lockheed P-3C Orion dropping sonobuoys.  Refurbished and upgraded P-3C were originally eyed by the Philippines for acquisition via US government FMS. But the deal did not push through and the DND opened a competition for new build MPA.

The PAF was a user of Fokker F-27MPA Maritimes in the past, but a replacement was not made for several years until the current LRPA project.
Photo taken from Wings Pallete website.

A summary of the technical specifications are as follows:

Technical Specifications - Aircraft (Major):
Numbers: 2 units, brand new, factory new;
Engine: at least 2 turboprops using Jet A1 fuel, jet engine not acceptable;
Minimum Payload at Maximum Fuel: at least 11,000 lbs;
Endurance: 7 hours
Cruising Speed: at least 200 knots;
Range: at least 1,400 nmi;
Service Ceiling: at least 25,000 feet;
Engine Time Before Overhaul (TBO): at least 3,600 hours;
Seating: at least 3 at cockpit, at least 10 for cabin;
Communication: at least 2 High Frequency Communication radios, at least 2 UHF radios, at least 2 marine band radios, at least 1 Satellite Communications (SATCOM), at least 1 Encryption unit;
Other Features: lavatory, 2 optic observation glass window, crew rest area for at least 3 crew,  hardpoints for weapons and pods, and external stores.

Technical Specifications - Mission and Surveillance System:
Console: 4 operator multi-functional consoles, physically and functionally identical, software the same as consoles on ground stations. Must be able to show tactical situation window, live or recorded EO/IR and radar video, sensors window (radar, ELINT/SIGINT/COMINT, acoustics, MAD), and other special windows (navigation data, data link and communication, display management);
Airborne Tactical System (ATS): to integrate mission sensors, aircraft navigation, communications, weapons control system,
Sensors integrated to ATS: search radar, Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) turret, ESM/ELINT/COMIT, acoustics, Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD), Automatic Identification System (AIS), Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) integrator, SATCOM and line of sight communication/data link.
Search Radar: should have Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) mode, Wide Area Surveillance/Ground (WAS) mode, Sysnthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mode.
Sonobuoy: to include Received and Processor, 100pcs. Active Sonobuoys, 100pcs. Passive Sonobuoys, and 30 Bathythermal Buoys;
Downlink System: Type and specification to be provided later on, should include 1 aircraft transmitter per aircraft, 1 airborne antenna per aircraft, 5 units of Fixed Station Receivers, 5 units of Line of Sight Data Link Antenna for Fixed Station Receiver, 17 units Ground Mobile Receiver with briefcase-type decryption unit, and 17 units Antenna.


There were 10 reported buyers of the Bid Documents for the LRPA Project, although only 8 companies submitted a query that were answered on the July 24 SBB. These are:

- ARINC Aerospace (USA);
- CASA-Airbus Defense and Space (Spain);
- Elbit Systems Ltd. (Israel);
- Field Aviation (USA);
- IAI Elta Systems Ltd. (Israel);
- L3 Mission Integration (USA);
- Lockheed Martin (USA);
- PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero) (Indonesia);
- Raytheon Company (USA);
- Saab Technologies Asia Pacific (Sweden).

IAI Elta System and Bombarider Aerospace's proposal for Q-400 maritime patrol aircraft. Bombardier might only supply the aircraft platform to some of the bidders who specializes in surveillance system manufacturing and integration.
Photo taken from Canadian-American Strategic Review website. 

Although Bombardier Aerospace of Canada submitted a query, it appears that they did not join the project as a direct bidding entity, but may probably supply their aircraft to some of the bidders, which will be explained below.

It is also worth noting that a major MPA manufacturer, Alenia Aerospace of Italy, did not even bother to acquire the bid documents. This may be due to their previous loss and accusations of irregularities against the DND for their award to Airbus Military to supply 3 C-295 tactical transports for the PAF's Medium Lift Fixed Wing Aircraft acquisition program.

A Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 maritime patrol aircraft. Alenia Aerospace did not participate in the PAF's LRPA acquisition project probably due to a negative position against the DND's award to Airbus Military for the Medium Lift Fixed Wing Aircraft acquisition.

Of all the bid document buyers, all except ARINC Aerospace, Field Aviation, and Raytheon Company did not submit a bid. Although MaxDefense still don't have any idea why ARINC and Field Aviation did not submit, Raytheon Company was reportedly teamed-up with PT Dirgantara Indonesia as a subcontractor for the mission systems integration part of their offer.

The following are the bidders and the findings made by DND-BAC, listed according to the sequence of bid opening made last August 11:

• Saab Technologies Asia Pacific was found ineligible to bid due to missing Tax Clearance documents;
• L3 Mission Integration was also found ineligible due to the eligibility document reasons; 
• Elbit Systems' bid was considered eligible and was the first bidder to do so. They were found ineligible on the 2nd part of the bid opening for technical specifications and performance parameters because they "did not include fast moving items and consumables in the list of minimum deliverables", according to an interview with SBAC-1 Chairman Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo.
• IAI Elta Systems was also found ineligible initially, but the decision was overturned after BAC found its submitted Financial Statement documents acceptable. They were found ineligible on the 2nd part of the bid opening for the same reasons as Elbit Systems.
• Lockheed Martin was also considered ineligible due to documentation problems;
• PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Indonesian Aerospace) was also found ineligible. 
• CASA-Airbus Defense and Space was also found ineligible because of failing to meet certain requirements.

The bidders are given until August 14, 2014 to file for a Motion for Reconsideration with the DND-BAC regarding their concerns. Otherwise, the bid will be considered a failure if no single entity passes all the requirements.

Possible Offers:
Although the 1st stage of the bidding has proceeded, it was still not known what are bidders actually intended to offer to the DND and PAF. The project is actually composed of 2 main sections: the platform aircraft, and the overall mission and surveillance integrated system. The 1st stage of the bidding gave more importance to the aircraft platform rather than the mission systems which the DND indicated to give priority in the 2nd stage.

Aircraft:
The platform aircraft was supposed to be provided by the bidders during the bidding, but MaxDefense believes that the following might be used by the bidders:

1. Airbus Military C-295
Already the PAF's possible leading choice due to its recent order for 3 units for its Medium Lift Fixed Wing aircraft requirement. MaxDefense believes that the technical specifications for the LRPA's aircraft platform was loosely based on this aircraft, thus it is considered as the benchmark aircraft.

CASA-Airbus Military's C-295 tactical transport aircraft.

2. Bombardier Dash 8 Q-400
There are a number of bidders which currently uses the Q-400 as its platform aircraft for their MPA and other Special Missions products. This aircraft is sleek, fast, and is also a very competitive special missions aircraft aside from being a proven turboprop regional airliner.  The Q-400 is Bombardier's latest Dash 8 Q-Series variant and is longer, more powerful and updated, and more competitive than its earlier variants. Its length can accommodate 4 or more console stations and space requirements compared to other aircraft. Due to its powerful but thirsty engines, a special mission military variant may feature an on-fuselage fuel tank.

The latest version of Bombardier's Dash 8 Q-series, the Q-400 NextGen.
Photo taken from Aviation News website.

3. Airbus Military-PTDI CN-235
An aircraft born on the partnership of Airbus Military subsidiary CASA of Spain and PTDI's forerunner IPTN. Although it is an Airbus product, a possible acquisition of the PAF of CN-235 aircraft may actually be from PTDI due to their agreement with Airbus on the distribution, sales, and support of the aircraft. The Philippines falls under PTDI's responsibility. The aircraft actually falls short on some details indicated in the LRPA's technical specifications. 

The Airbus Military-PTDI CN-235 tactical transport aircraft.

4. Alenia Aerospace ATR-42 or ATR-72 
Although Alenia is at odds with the DND over a previous project, some of the bidders may opt to use the ATR series aircraft as a base platform, considering that the aircraft was used by other countries for MPA duties. It is a proven turboprop regional airline like the Q-400, and also has special missions among its capabilities. Turkey uses the ATR-72 for its ASW-capable MPA, while other countries like Nigeria uses the shorter ATR-42 for MPA missions. 

An ATR-72-500 used by Cebu Pacific.
Photo taken from Airliners.net, copyright owned by Ryan Hemmings.

5. Saab 2000
This aircraft has some limited success as a special missions aircraft, although it was offered to several military forces as a MPA and AEWC aircraft platform. This aircraft also has to overcome one of the specification's requirements, which is to be a brand new, factory new aircraft. Saab stopped production of the Saab 2000 since 1999, and a possible offer to the PAF are probably refurbished units from Saab Aircraft Leasing company.

The Saab 2000.
Photo taken from Saab History website.

Special mention for IAI Elta Systems' earlier proposal to use the Gufstream G250 for their offer, which was turned down by the DND due to the specified requirement for turboprop engine-powered aircraft. The DND preferred turboprops due to fuel efficiency, easy maintenance, and less susceptible to foreign object damage. 

For those looking at the Lockheed Martin C-130J, MaxDefense needs to burst your bubble this early on. A brand new transport-configured C-130J costs more than the budget allocated for a fully-equipped MPA. Even the cheaper and simpler C-130XJ still can't meet the budget.


Mission Systems:
These are the integrated systems installed on the aircraft for it to conduct maritime patrol and surveillance duties. The DND and PAF has not been specific on this, and has announced in their SBB that it would be given more specific attention on the 2nd stage of the bidding. MaxDefense lists down what it believes to be the possible offers of the bidders:

1. CASA-Airbus Defense and Space C-295MPA or C-295ASW Persuader
Airbus has been offering the C-295MPA to several countries, and is currently their baseline offering for the maritime patrol aircraft market. It uses the Airbus-developed Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS), which is an "onboard suite of networked computers" that integrates the different surveillance and mission systems of the MPA. The entire system consists of a search radar, EO/IR sensors, ESM, ELINT, COMIT, MAD, an IFF integrator, SATCOM, and a data link. FITS can actually be installed in other aircraft platforms, but since Airbus also manufactures the C-295, it is not impossible that they are offering this tandem to the LRPA acquisition project. 

Chile's C-295MPA and C-295ASW Persuaders are equipped with Airbus' FITS.

Airbus claims that the endurance of the Persuader is at 11 hours, or 6 hours on station at 200nmi range. The FITS system is palletized, and enables the aircraft to do other missions when necessary. 

MaxDefense believes that this system is also what the PAF and DND used as a baseline for their mission system requirements.


2. Elbit Systems' Proposal
This is a tricky part. Elbit currently has no manned maritime patrol aircraft product on offer (as far as MaxDefense is concerned). But it currently offers the Hermes 900 unmanned air system in a maritime patrol configuration. Elbit may probably use their expertise to install the system into a manned aircraft platform while complying with other requirements indicated in the project's technical specifications.

Elbit Systems may transfer their maritime patrol system from the Hermes 900 UAS to a manned aircraft platform to comply with the PAF's LRPA requirement.

3. IAI Elta Systems' EL/I-3360 Maritime Patrol Aircraft
The EL/I-3360 is actually a modular suite integrating surveillance and mission systems for maritime patrol aircraft. IAI Elta actually chose the Bombardier Q-400 as their aircraft platform of choice for this suite, and may have also teamed-up with Field Aviation (which bought bid documents but did not submit a bid), but they could actually integrate the system to another aircraft type with the same space provisions. It is possible that they could make an offer based on both the Bombardier Q-400 and the Airbus Military C-295 to increase their chances. The ELI-3360 uses IAI Elta's EL/M-2022A surface search radar system, ESM and MOSP type EO/IR sensor, a COMINT array, aft mounted countermeasures dispensers and side-mounted containers, and a mixture of other surveillance and intelligence systems. 

IAI Elta offered the EL/I-3360 MPA using the Bombardier Q-400 aircraft for the UK's MPA requirements.
Photo taken from AIN Online website c/o David McIntosh.

4. L3 Mission Integration's Maritime Patrol Aircraft
In cooperation with Bombardier, Selex ES, Ultra Electronics, and also possibly Field Aviation, L3 Mission Integration has a current Maritime Patrol Aircraft design using the Q-400 aircraft platform. L3's system integrates the Selex Seaspray 7500 search radar or the Eagle AESA wide-area radar, and Ultra Electronics' Airborne Acoustic System.

L-3 Mission Integration's venture with Bombardier, Selex and Ultra Electronics produced this Q-400 based maritime patrol aircraft for the British requirements. L-3 may offer the same for the PAF.
Photo taken from L-3 Mission Integration's website.

5. Lockheed Martin's Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft
The US company was part of the US Coast Guard's HC-144 Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft, whose Mission System Pallet roll-on, roll-off electronics suite was used on a Airbus-supplied CN-235 aircraft platform. This same is equipment was used by Lockheed Martin on the USCG's HC-130 surveillance aircraft, thus it can also be used to modify transport variants of the C-130s into maritime patrol aircraft after some modifications.

Lockheed Martin may also modify the systems used in the USCG surveilllance aircraft to include those specifically required by the LRPA technical specificaions. These includes the addition of anti-submarine equipment, COMINT/SIGINT/ELINT systems, use of a more capable search radar, and capability to carry weapons.

Aside from the CN-235, Lockheed Martin may also opt to use the larger Airbus C-295 aircraft, or offer to use PAF's current C-130 fleet. Earlier Lockheed Martin did announced their intention to discuss with the PAF to modify some of the PAF's C-130 Hercules transports, which they claim would cost less than half of a new MPA. 

The US Coast Guard's HC-144A Ocean Sentry uses Lockheed Martin's Mission System Pallet electronics suite on an Airbus CN-235 aircraft.
Photo taken from Wikipedia.

The same Mission Pallet System was also offered by Lockheed Martin to be installed on some of the PAF's C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, although this might be a separate offer aside from bidding for the new LRPA.
Photo taken from Wikipedia.

6. PT Dirgantara Indonesia's CN-235MP Persuader
If reports are true that PTDI teamed-up with Raytheon Company for their MPA offer for the PAF, then this would be a departure from PTDI's previous team-up with Thales with their AMASCOS 200 system for the TNI-AL (Indonesian Navy) MPA requirement. 

Raytheon previously offered their AN/APS-134 surface search radar for the CN-235MPA Persuader, and also has the AN/APS-148 Sea Vue search radar. They have the capability to provide PTDI with the necessary surveillance and weapons systems and integration. Their recent experience was as the weapons integrator for Turkey's Meltem-III ATR-72 MPA program.

The CN-235's smaller size may compromise its bid as it cannot meet some of the requirements set by the DND. From the layout below, it shows the disadvantage of its tight interior space to provide the number of console stations and other provisions.

A typical layout of a CN-235MP Persuader aircraft.
Photo taken from bandara.com.

The CN-235-220 MPA from PT DI (Indonesian Aerospace) for the Indonesian Navy, but this specific aircraft uses the Thales AMASCOS 200 instead of a system from Raytheon. Take note of the modified nose to carry a search radar.
Top photo taken from PTDI website. Bottom photo taken from Mahdi News website.

7. Saab Technologies' Swordfish Maritime Patrol Aircraft
The Swedish company's current offering, the Swordfish MPA uses their own Saab 2000 aircraft platform. Saab claims that the Swordfish has a maximum endurance greater than 9.5 hours, and a typical on-station time of up to 5.5 hours while operating 200nmi from its base. It also has a maximum range of greater than 2,000 nmi, a maximum cruise speed of 350 knots, and a patrol speed of 160 knots. It has a service ceiling of 31,000 feet and needs 1,300 meters of take-off runway distance. It integrates Selex's Seaspray 7500 maritime surveillance radar, an active Acoustic System from Ultra Electronics, and a high definition EO/IR sensor pod from FLIR Systems. The aircraft is also equipped with an advanced C4I, AIS, IFF, ESM, Self-Protection System (SPS), SATCOM and Data Links.

Although there are no new Saab 2000s produced since 1999, so Saab needs to discuss this thoroughly with the DND to keep their product in the race. 

The Saab 2000 Swordfish MPA demonstrator.
Photo taken from AIRheads Fly website.

The Saab 2000 Swordfish's layout. Saab may need to adjust the layout to conform to PAF requirements should their offer be shortlisted.
Photo taken from Saab 2000 Swordfish datasheet.

The Verdict:
MaxDefense believes that this project is one of the most tightest competitions ever to be conducted by the DND and AFP, although the choice of the platform is biased on the Airbus Military C-295 due to its commonality with tactical transports ordered by the PAF earlier. The Bombardier Q-400 is a very good aircraft, and so is the Saab 2000 if only there are new builds for this aircraft. 

Although MaxDefense believes that Airbus Defense and Space has the highest chance of bagging the project, IAI Elta Systems and L-3 Mission Integration may have a strong chance of stealing away a win from the front runner. 

If the competitive bidding last August 11, 2014 will be considered a total failure, then the DND may opt to either have a re-bidding using the same or a revised specification and documentation requirements, a negotiated bidding, or a government-to-government (G2G) deal with a friendly foreign government, which is actually the fastest way to acquire the system. MaxDefense still hopes that the bidders will submit a Motion for Reconsideration, and the DND-BAC allows the bidders to proceed to avoid further delays on the project, since majority of the reasons for ineligibility was because of the slow processing time to acquire documents from Philippine government offices and agencies.

More updates will be made as MaxDefense awaits the outcome of the MFR deadline, which is supposed to be today, August 14, 2014.

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UPDATES:
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April 18, 2015:
MaxDefense has not updated this entry for several month. It would be remembered that MaxDefense @ Facebook covered the report wherein the bid submission and opening for the project failed last August 11, 2014, and that the DND SBAC-1 has given IAI Elta and Elbit Systems until August 14, 2014 to file for a Motion for Reconsideration.

Eventually the bidding did not push through and was considered a failed bidding. According to government procurement procedures, the DND can proceed with a re-bidding for the project. But so far, the DND has not proceeded with a rebidding for still unconfirmed reasons, as no formal reason has been released by the DND.


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June 25, 2015:
Aside from pursuing the acquisition of P-3C Orions, the DND also confirmed that the Long Range Patrol Aircraft (LRPA) project for the Philippine Air Force is still a go, although the bidding could not proceed because it was among those pending due to Malacanang's decision not to abruptly sign the Revised AFP Modernization Act for reasons still not confirmed by both the DND and the Office of the President. This project is said to run astride with the P-3C Orion acquisition, alhough the concept of operating two types of MPA aircraft is still questionable.

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