PORMAL na ipinagkaloob ng U.S Embassy Manila sa Philippine Navy ang kauna unahang advanced fixed-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS), ang ScanEagle UAS na nagkakahalaga ng P 710 million sa ginanap na turn over ceremony kahapon sa Magluyan Hall sa Naval Base Heracleo Alano.
Ayon kay Philippine Navy Flag Officer In Command Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Jamero Bacordo, mapapalakas ng ilang ulit ng P710-million unmanned drone system ang maritime defense and border security capacity ng militar at maging sa humanitarian assistance at disaster response operation ng pamahalaan .
Sinaksihan nina Bacordo, AFP deputy chief of staff, Vice Adm. Erick Kagaoan na siyang kumatawan kay Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana bilang guest of honor and speaker, Philippine Fleet commander, Rear Adm. Loumer P Bernabe at iba pang senior leaders ng PN.
Sa hanay naman ng US government, pinangunahan ito ni Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly Kelly at iba pang kinatawan mula sa embahada nang ipinagkaloob ang ScanEagle UAS sa Hukbong Dagat ng Filipinas na gagamitin ng activated squadron sa ilalim ng Philippine Fleet’s Naval Air Wing, ang Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Squadron (MUARS-71).
Ayon kay Bacordo, layunin ng ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System a mapalakas at mapabilis ang pagkakaloob ng intelligence, surveillance at reconnaissance data sa Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP)
Sinabi naman ni Kagaoan, gagamitin ang nasabing military equipment sa kanilang base sa Palawan na malapit lamang sa disputed West Philippine Sea.
“This new asset will complement the same kind being operated by the 300th Air Intelligence and Security Wing at the Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, which is very close to the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea that need our consistent attention,” ani Kagaoan.
Ang nasabing kagamitan ay bahagi ng suporta ng US sa modernization program ng AFP at nakapaloob dito, ang “grant assistance and expedited sales of arms and munitions for urgent maritime security, counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief requirements.”
Nauna nang inihayag ni Lorenzana na inaantabayanan ng AFP ang may P869 million halaga ng military equipment mula US sa susunod na buwan na inilarawan na bilang “precision-guided munitions which can be dropped with pinpoint accuracy.”
Ang transfer of defense and military equipment ay tinalakay sa ginanap na pagpupulong ng kalihim kay US Chargé d’Affaires John Law kamakailan sa Camp Aguinaldo.
“Transferring the ScanEagle system for operation by the Maritime Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Squadron represents the steadfast commitment by the United States to our partners in the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” ani Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Kelly. VERLIN RUIZ
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