Philippines to procure long-range maritime spy plane

The Department of National Defense (DND) is eyeing to procure the country’s first long-range maritime patrol and surveillance plane from Spain’s licensed aircraft manufacturer based in Indonesia, a senior defense official said Monday.
Dr. Peter Paul Galvez, DND spokesperson, said that the department is also scouting for spy planes and medium lift aircrafts from other European countries at a lower cost.
“On our shortlist is the Indonesian aircraft,” Galvez said, but added that they are also eyeing spy planes manufactured by other European companies.
Once President Aquino approves the planned acquisition, the soon-to-be procured spy plane is projected to strengthen the country’s maritime domain awareness.
For the longest time, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been relying mainly on a small number of islander planes for its maritime and territorial patrol requirements.
“The long range patrol aircraft would be devoted solely to conducting maritime surveillance,” Galvez said, without naming the Indonesian-made aircraft.

Observers said the spy plane the DND is eyeing to procure following a series of evaluation, is the CASA/IPTN CN-235. The plane is being manufactured by Indonesia and Spain under a joint venture agreement.
Aside from its long-range maritime surveillance capabilities, the CN-235 surveillance aircraft can also be used as a military transport plane. It’s largest user is Turkey with 61 aircraft.
The surveillance plane has a crew of two, pilot and co-pilot, and can carry 44 passengers and a payload of 13,120 pounds with a cruising speed of 454 kilometers per hour and a range of 2,730 nautical miles.
Also being considered is Italy’s C-27J Spartan, a medium lift aircraft.
Earlier, the DND announced that it is also procuring a squadron of lead-in fighter jets from South Korea to bolster its territorial defense.