Philippine Air Force Buys Mitsubishi Air Surveillance Radar System

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana has signed the Contract Agreement and Notice to Proceed for the Horizon 2 Air Surveillance Radar System (ASRS) Acquisition Project of the Philippine Air Force, under a negotiated government-to-government procurement with Japan. This cooperation signifies Japan’s first time to export Japanese-made defense equipment under a restructured government policy, permitting sales of defense equipment, as long as it is deemed for the promotion of international peace. The project, which has an Approved Budget for Contract of PHP 5,500,000,000.00, was awarded to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) with a total contract price of $103,500,000.00.

This is also the first defense equipment and technology cooperation project between the two countries in realization of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Japan concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology signed in 2016. The Air Surveillance Radar System package includes three (3) fixed long-range Air Surveillance Radars, each with building facilities and one (1) mobile Air Surveillance Radar, and are expected to be delivered to the Philippines starting 2022.

The recommended ASRS sites will cover large areas of the Philippine Rise, Southern Areas of the country, and the Southern portion of the West Philippine Sea. Operations from these strategically vital locations will enable the Philippine Air Force to provide optimal airspace monitoring, aircraft control, perform its Air Defense mission and enhance the security in Areas of Interest identified by the DND. Specifically, the ASRS will help to detect, identify, and correlate any threats and intrusions within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and deliver radar images to decision-makers and relevant operating units.