AFP chief considers acquiring more mid-range missiles

BAGUIO CITY — Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, General Romeo Brawner Jr., is considering acquiring additional mid-range missile systems to boost the country’s credible deterrence.  

“Part of that advancement is trying to get in the latest weapon systems that are out there—enough for us to develop a deterrent effect. So one of the modern weapons are, of course, the missile systems,” Brawner said over the weekend.

Brawner stressed that this plan is part of the military transformation roadmap to become a world-class armed force. 

“One of the objectives of the AFP Transformation Roadmap, is for us to transform the AFP in its current state to a world-class armed forces, and of course, with that comes along the capability advancement that we want to achieve,” he noted. 

Recognizing the importance of developing a “self-reliant defense posture,” Brawner mentioned the country’s acquisition of the Indian-made BrahMos medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missiles delivered earlier this year. 

“In fact, we already have the BrahMos mid-range missile systems. We are wanting to get more of the latest weapon systems—that includes the mid-range capability,” Brawner said. 

In April this year, AFP Public Affairs Chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the Philippine government received the first batch delivery of the Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile System procured from Indian defense material production company, BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd.

He noted that the recently arrived Indian-made mid-range missile system is still undergoing assessment and evaluation by the Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee (TIAC). 

“TIAC still ongoing for the first batch delivery which includes storage facility and equipment, and the missile itself—basically, the weapons systems,” Trinidad said. 

The delivery is part of a contract signed on 28 January 2022, for the acquisition of Indian-made BrahMos medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missiles worth P18.9 billion.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. earlier said the country is building a credible deterrent posture consistent with the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept. 

“A defense cooperation agreement will center, number one—on a mutual understanding regarding capabilities, training, exchange of information, and the traditional defense cooperation arrangements bilateral countries have,” he said. 

Intending to further improve the soldiers’ defense capabilities, Brawner cited the military forces' ongoing familiarization of the ground-based United States-made mid-range capability, or Typhon missile system, that is capable of firing Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles. 

“So as early as now, while we don't have them yet… we start training already, even if we don't have them in our inventory. So the objective is for us to train together with our strategic ally on the use of modern weapon systems,” he said. 

Brawner also cited the relevant contributions of the US for “bringing with them the latest weapon systems that they have so that they could also expose the Philippine forces on the use of these modern weapons.”