PHL to buy 2 anti-submarine, maritime surveillance helicopters

A defense department official confirmed that the Philippines had sealed an agreement to acquire two anti-submarine helicopters for its navy.

The Anglo-Italian AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters will be delivered in a little over a year, said Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo, adding they would be the nation's first.

He did not disclose the cost.

But according to The Diplomat, the contract price under the DND's Anti-Submarine Helicopter Acquisition Project was worth $114 million.

The DND awarded the contract to Anglo-Italian manufacturer Finmeccanica’s Helicopter Sector — known previously as AgustaWestland Helicopters.

The announcement came after President Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines may invest in its first ever submarine fleet to help protect its territory in the disputed South China Sea.

It was under Aquino's watch that the long moribund armed forces modernization program got ramped up.

The air force recently took delivery of two of the 12 South Korean-made FA-50 Fighting Eagle fighter jets while the army got over a hundred refurbished M113 armored personnel carriers from Israel. 

The Diplomat said the AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters will likely be stationed aboard the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz. Both vessels were acquired from the US Coast Guard, in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

“Designed to operate from the smallest helicopter-capable ship,” according to the company website, the AW159 can be accommodated by even the smallest frigate and offshore patrol vessel and is thus an ideal aircraft for the Philippine Navy given the smaller size of its surface warships in comparison to the ships of other navies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Source: Finmeccanica

There is no detailed information available on what variant of the helicopter will be delivered and what weapons packages will come with it. According to IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly, “the AW159 can be configured to carry active dipping sonar (ADS), sonobuoys, and torpedoes, while for the anti-surface warfare role it can be armed with anti-ship missiles, rockets, and guns.”

Weapon systems could potentially include British-made Sting Ray torpedoes, depth charges, Thales Martlet lightweight multirole missiles, and Anglo-French Sea Venom anti-ship missiles.

The all-weather helicopter is powered by two LHTEC CTS800-4N engines and has a maximum range of 265 nautical miles (490 kilometers). The aircraft also features integrated digital open systems architecture and is equipped with a “fully-integrated avionics and mission systems,” the Finmeccanica company website explains.

“The platform is equipped with the latest communications, navigation systems, advanced sensors and a wide range of weapons, providing mission commanders with Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO), Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW), Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Search and Rescue (SAR) capabilities,” according to Finmeccanica. — With Agence France-Presse, APG, GMA News