The DND has contracted 12 UAV from Elbit Systems of Israel — three Hermes 450 and nine units of Hermes 900 under an P8 billion project.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana yesterday announced the Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) receipt of the first batch of Israeli-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is part of the government’s P8 billion acquisition program.

Lorenzana made the disclosure during the budget hearing for the Department of National Defense (DND) when asked of the military’s drone acquisition program, after seeking P25 million for UAV facilities for next year.

The Defense chief said two Hermes 450 UAV have already been delivered to the PAF.

“We received two of our bigger drones…we expect more deliveries within this year and next year,” Lorenzana said.

The drones would be deployed in Sulu or Palawan.

Currently, Air Force personnel are undergoing training in handling the modern UAV.

Lorenzana said the initial batch of these drones arrived in August.

The DND has contracted 12 UAV from Elbit Systems of Israel — three Hermes 450 and nine units of Hermes 900 under an P8 billion project.

Lorenzana said the Philippine Navy will also have its own advanced UAV type.

Under the drone acquisition program, the Defense chief stressed that the department has bought 530 small drones for the military’s tactical units.

Described as the workhorse of the Israeli Defense Force in counterterror operations, the Hermes 450 drones are said to be the mature and combat-proven units, which have a class-leading safety and reliability record.

The Hermes 450 can reach an altitude of up to 18,000 feet and can last approximately 20 hours in flight.

On the other hand, the Hermes 900 is the larger and more sophisticated type of drone. It can be used for ground support and maritime patrol missions and has a service ceiling of 30,000 feet and flight endurance of up to 36 hours.

The acquisition of UAV is just part of the PAF’s modernization program.

Apart from the Israeli-made Hermes series, the DND has also acquired eight units of Scaneagle UAV from the United States under its Foreign Military Sales after President Rodrigo Duterte gave the go-signal for the military to consider US companies in the acquisition program.

Last April, Lorenzana signed a contract for the procurement of 16 S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Sikorsky, a subsidiary of the American defense manufacturer behemoth Lockheed Martin, in the biggest contract yet with an American firm.

The helicopters, with an acquisition cost of P16 billion, will be manufactured out of Sikorsky’s plant in Poland.

The Philippine Navy, on the other hand, has recently commissioned corvettes from South Korea and several multi-purpose attack crafts. It is also considering acquiring frigates and submarines to beef up its fleet.

The President has expressed full support to the DND modernization program.