Reconditioned planes join PAF attack fleet

Philippine Air Force (PAF) officials commissioned yesterday two OV-10 Broncos into its aging fleet of attack planes.

Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla, PAF spokesman, said the two reconditioned OV-10s have new engines with enhanced lift and speed capabilities.

The two planes, which the country acquired from the US in 1991 and 1992, were initially three-bladed turbo propeller aircraft, but are now fitted with four-bladed propellers.

"Ito yung unang generation ng OV-10 na nakuha natin sa America. Matagal na itong sira, which we were able to repair," Padilla said.

The PAF relies mainly on the OV-10s in its anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism campaign, with the aircraft serving a dual role both as an attack plane and a bomber.

At present the PAF has 17 OV-10s in its inventory. Most of these aircraft, all in full flying condition, were obtained from Thailand.

The PAF, in another ceremony held yesterday at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City also had a newly reconditioned Nomad N22B/C aircraft blessed.

The repair and commissioning of the three refurbished aircraft had been a result of the in-house Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) project of the PAF, the funding of which was approved by the Department of National Defense (DND).

According to Padilla, the three aircraft are now ready for mission deployment and are welcome additions to internal security operations requirements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

"These aircraft can also be used for territorial defense missions," Padilla said.

Apart from OV-10s, the Air Force also depends on S-211 trainer jets, which it had converted into interceptors to defend the country’s airspace.

Playing support roles for the OV-10s and S-211s, are some 60 Vietnam war-vintage UH-1H helicopters, which the country obtained from US and Singapore.

Only recently, one of these helicopters crashed in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija, killing all nine passengers on board, including former Philippine Volcanology and Siesmology (Phivolcs) Director Raymundo Punongbayan.