Philippines awards contract for two Long Range Patrol Aircraft to Israel's Elbit Systems

 

A maritime patrol aircraft based on an ATR-72 aircraft platform. Photo c/o Leonardo.

Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems has confirmed in a press release that it was won a contract worth US$114 million to supply and deliver two Long Range Patrol Aircraft (LRPA) to an Asia-Pacific country.

It was determined to be the Philippines, based on the country's existing requirement for two Long Range Patrol Aircraft for its air force.

According to Elbit Systems, the platform to be used will be new ATR-72-600 regional turboprop airliner aircraft which will be integrated with a mission suite that includes a Mission Management System, Electro-Optics, Radar, Signal Intelligence (SIGINT), Communication and more.

Elbit Systems also confirmed that the contract will be carried out over a period of five years, although it is believed that this will include the contractual obligations with regards to Integrated Logistics Support (ILS), training, and spare parts support.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has been in the market for two Long Range Patrol Aircraft, which will be used as a maritime patrol aircraft, since 2014 when it first raised the requirement through a public bidding.

Airbus Defence and Space first won the public bidding in 2015, but was disqualified in the post-tender inspection phase for failing to confirm the supply of two maritime patrol aircraft based on the CASA C-295M aircraft to have anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities due to the limited budget.

The Philippines Department of National Defense (DND) has made several attempts to tender the project but failed to either get companies to fit the requirements with the budget, or failed to secure funding from the government.

According to Filipino defense page MaxDefense Philippines, the project was directly negotiated with the Israeli Ministry of Defense in 2021, with Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries being shortlisted to supply the LRPAs. Ultimately Elbit Systems was chosen due to its previous supply of Hermes 450 and Hermes 900 surveillance UAVs which are currently being used as maritime patrol platforms in the absence of a purpose-built maritime patrol aircraft.




[1] Elbit Systems
[2] Philippine Defense Resource
[3] MaxDefense Philippines