7 Companies join bidding for more military aircraft

DO328-MaritimePatrolAircraft_made_by_Aerodata

The first stage of the bidding to supply two long-range patrol aircraft for the AFP modernization project in the Philippines was joined by seven notable  aircraft companies from all over the world.

 The manufacturer who participated in the bidding were EADS/CASA Airbus Defense and Space of Spain;
Elta Systems Ltd. and Elbit Systems Ltd., both from Israel;  Saab Asia Pacific Co. Ltd. of Sweden; PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero) Indonesian Aerospace of Indonesia; Lockheed Martin and L3 Mission Integration, both from the United States. The total supply of two long range patrol aircraft is worth P5.98 billion.

Ten firms accepted bid documents for the project, all targets to boost the Philippines’ maritime domain consciousness while three companies – Field Aviation, Raytheon Co., and Arinc Aerospace  did not yet submitted their offers during the opening of bids held on Monday although they had expressed interest in line in the bidding.

While the Defense department is still authenticating the eligibility of the seven bidders as of press time, Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said the long range patrol aircraft would serve as the military’s “eyes and ears” to secure the country’s Territory.

Veles also noted that the Air Force has long-range patrol aircraft in its record but was utilized in different purpose so they need to acquire more. The project will be financed by the Revised Armed Forces Modernization Program and was signed by President Aquino in 2012.

Because of the full nature of the air assets, the Defense department will hold a two-stage economical bid. The first stage will be a screening of  the bidders to determine who among the bidders are eligible and the  second stage will assessment of  the actual offers submitted by the firms that pre-qualified. The winner shall deliver the aircraft not more than 3 years from the date they were purchased.