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An Article on the News5 Website recently wrote about the Plan of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to obtain more Combat Aircraft. Quoting from the said Article: "About Php 400 billion were allocated for 48 Multi-Role Fighters and an additional Php 40 billion for FA-50s to train Air Force Pilots."
However, it remains to be seen if this indeed will bear into fruition as funding remains a Problem, as the Article itself mentioned. At any rate, Php 400 billion for the Multi-Role Fighter (MRF) Aircraft is currently equivalent to Usd 7.01 billion, assuming the Exchange Rate of Php 57.08 for every United States (US) Dollar.
For 48 Aircraft that will be equivalent to around Usd 146 million per Aircraft. That Budget I think is just about enough to buy almost any of the Fighter Aircraft that is available in the Market right now, assuming we buy only the Aircraft plus some Logistics and Training.
In Theory this Budget would even be enough for us to buy the F-35A Lightning II Stealth Aircraft as the lowest Contract Price that was executed recently for it was when Poland bought 32 of it in 2020 for Usd 4.6 billion, or around Usd 144 million per Aircraft.
In Terms of Operating Cost, according to the 2024 Data from the US Department of Defense (DOD), it only cost around Usd 18,300 per Flight Hour (FH) to operate, only a bit higher than the Usd 15,700 per FH for the F-16C.
However, there is the Question on whether the US would even sell the Aircraft to us since they have already denied its sale to another Country in South East Asia (SEA) recently, Thailand.
This Budget would be more than enough to buy the KF-21 Boramae which the Philippines officially requested a Request for Information (RFI) as I had released a Video about recently as it costs only around Usd 80 million each, leaving a lot of Room to buy a lot of Weapons for it also if bought.
But the Boramae won’t be available soon though, I think around the early 2030s as per my estimate for exports, hence if the Philippines want to get something that could be delivered sooner, it will have to look at the Fighter Aircraft that are already in Service right now.
As for the additional FA-50 Aircraft, the Php 40 billion or Usd 700 million would be enough to buy another Squadron of the latest Version of the Aircraft, the FA-50 Block 20, which Malaysia bought for around Usd 51 million each recently.
I saw a South Korean Article several Months ago which I can’t find anymore now, and it mentioned that the offer to the Philippines of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the Manufacturer of the FA-50, was for a dozen FA-50 Block 20 Aircraft plus the upgrade of the existing FA-50PH Fighting Eagle Aircraft to Block 20 Standards for around Usd 1 billion, but this is higher than the Budget that the PAF is allocating.
SOURCES:
* Korea Aerospace Industries proposes to sell FA50 Light Fighters to Royal Thai Air Force {Archived Link}
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| PAF Plans to get 48 MRF Aircraft for Php 400 billion, and more FA-50 Aircraft for Php 40 billion |
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