US turns over C-130s to Philippine Air Force
THE United States’s Embassy in the Philippines’s Chargé d’affaires (CDA) John Law, alongside representatives from the Joint US Military Assistance Group or JUSMAG, turned over on February 18 the first of two C-130H Hercules Aircraft to be delivered under a recent transfer to Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and the Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) leadership.
The US delivered the tactical-airlift capability worth P1.54 billion ($32.2 million) to the PAF through the Foreign Military Financing grant program to strengthen the Philippine military’s logistical capacity for military and civil-support operations—including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), as well as the distribution of supplies related to the pandemic.
The C-130H Hercules is capable of a maximum payload of 19,000 kilograms, with a flying range of over 1,900 kilometers. The 220 Airlift Wing at the PAF’S Brigadier General Benito N. Ebuen Air Base
in Cebu will own and operate the plane.
“The C-130H is a proven aircraft and [has demonstrated its reach and capability to deliver medical] supplies across the country over the past year,” Law confirmed. “We hope this additional aircraft will continue to be a steady workhorse for the [PAF] for years to come.”
As along standing ally of the Philippines,the us continues to provide support to the AFP through grants and expedited sales of arms and munitions to assist with urgent logistical and HADR requirements, bolster long-term AFP modernization goals, as well as buttress maritime security and counterterrorism efforts.
The Philippines is by far the largest recipient of US military assistance in the Indo-pacific region. Since 2015, the latter has delivered more than $765 million (or about P37 billion) worth of planes, ships, armored vehicles, small arms and other military equipment, while also training side-by-side with its “Filipino allies.”