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This is a list of all equipment that is in use by the Philippine Army. The Philippine army is a branch of Armed Forces of the Philippines that specializes in ground warfare. All equipment in service with the different branches of the AFP is provided by the Government of the Philippines in order to be used in protecting the freedom and sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines against any hostilities. For a list of previous equipment, please see List of former equipment of the Philippine Army.
Contents
Future Acquisition Plans
The Philippine Army has embarked on a 3-phase modernization program starting from 2013 to 2028 under the Revised AFP Modernization Program (RAFPMP) covered by Republic Act 10349, while still completing a previous modernization program spanning from 1995 to 2012 under the AFP Modernization Program (AFPMP) covered by Republic Act 7898. Several new acquisitions found in the current inventory were acquired under the AFP Modernization Program, as the Army projects under the RAFPMP are yet to be implemented as of September 2015.
Infantry and Crew-Served Equipment
An additional 22,253 units of Remington R4A3 (M4 standard) assault carbines were ordered by the DND from Remington Defense USA, using the savings from an earlier order from 50,629 rifles. It is expected that not all will be given to the Army, and some are for the other AFP branch of services.
The Government Arsenal is being tapped to refurbish or rebuild a majority of the Army's M16A1 rifles, and prototypes were already made to convert them to several variants. Among them are as follows:
- M16A1 (enhanced), which retains M16A1 features but uses M16A2 furniture;
- Designated Marksman Rifle/Special Purpose Rifle (DMR/SPR) with an 18" barrel and optics and similar in concept to the US Navy's Mk 12 Special Purpose Rifle;
- Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDMR) for the Special Operations Command with a 16" barrel and optics similar to the DMR/SPR rifle;
- Mid-Length Carbine with a 16" barrel, this type is slotted between the M4 and the M16;
- M16 Recon/SOF carbine with a 14.5" barrel similar to the M4;
- GA 10" Personal Defense Weapon (PDW), which uses a 10" barrel chambered to fire the GA-developed 7.62×37mm Musang round. For use on CQB and SpecOps requirements.
Aside from the M16A1, the Government Arsenal will also be refurbishing or rebuilding the existing M14 battle rifles of the AFP, into either the M14 SOCOM 16 battle rifle similar to the Springfield Armory M1A SOCOM 16 rifle, the M14 Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR) which similar to the US Marine Corps' Designated Marksman Rifle; and to the Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) which is similar to the US Navy's Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle.
There are also acquisition programs for Designated Marksman Rifles, the latest (Lot 8) being 6 units awarded to local distributor Nashe Enterprises. No definite information whether what type of rifle was ordered.
As part of the RAFPMP RA 10349, the Army will be acquiring 4,464 night fighting equipment consisting of 4,464 night vision monoculars, 4,464 infrared aiming devices, and hundreds of laser zeroing devices. The bidding for this project is expected to proceed within 2015. There is also a requirement for Thermal Imaging Devices, which are planned for acquisition within the Horizon phase of the RAFPMP RA 10349.
The Philippine Army also have an impending Foreign Military Sales (FMS) acquisition with the US government as part of the AFPMP RA 7898, consisting of 2,884 units 40mm Grenade Launchers divided into 2 phases of 2,200 and 684 units; and 1,129 units Airtronic RPG-7USA under the Rocket Launcher Light acquisition project in 2 phases of 355 and 774 units under both the AFPMP RA 7898 and RAFPMP RA 10349;
Communications Equipment
The DND has recently awarded an US$18 million contract to Harris Corporation to supply Harris Falcon III tacical vehicular radios and intercom systems for the Philippine Army's Mechanized Infantry Division (formerly Light Armor Division). The contract composed of RF-7800V Combat Net Radios and RF-7800I Intercom Systems to be installed of the MID's armored and support vehicles.
The Philippine Army will also acquire more Falcon-series tactical radios from Harris under a FMS deal with the US government, with a requirement for 62 100W base radios, 520 20W man-pack radios, and 1,376 5W hand-held radios under the AFPMP RA 7898 already awarded in 2014. Another set of orders is expected under RAFPMP RA 10349, with an additional 60 units 50W HF vehicular radios and 1,446 5W hand-held radios.
Artillery
54 units of 60mm mortars are being acquired through an FMS deal with the US government as part of the AFPMP RA 7898.
6 units of 155mm towed howitzers, as part of a larger order with the Philippine Marine Corps, is expected to be awarded within 2015 after Elbit Systems Land & C4I was declared the single calculated bidder.
Utility Vehicles
The Army will be acquiring 60 new Field Ambulances under an G2G deal with the Korean government. It is expected that Kia's KM451 Field Ambulance will be chosen since the PA has recently acquired the several units in the past. The order is then confirmed, with the DND releasing a Notice to Proceed to South Korea's KIA Motors Corp. in October 2015.
Armoured Vehicles
The US government has provided 114 M113A2 from excess defense articles (EDA) stocks for the Philippine Army under the US Military Assistance Program. These were refurbished, fitted with new machine guns and radios, and is scheduled for commissioning on February 4, 2016.
Another project to acquire 28 M113s was awarded to Elbit Systems Land & C4I, which involves the delivery of 14 Fire Support Vehicles, 4 Infantry Fighting Vehicles with 25mm RCWS, 6 Armored Personnel Carriers with 12.7mm RCWS, and 4 Armored Recovery Vehicles. All 6 units of the APC variant, and 4 units of the ARV variant have been commissioned, while delivery for the rest of the units are expected within 2016.
Aircraft
The US government will be providing 2 former US Army C-23 Sherpa transport aircraft as part of US Military Assistance Program.