6th ID gets new military equipment

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The artillery assets of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) received a boost in firepower with the arrival of eight units of Autonomous Truck-Mounted Howitzer System or ATMOS 2000 from Israel on Friday.

The military equipment arrived at the Makar Port in General Santos City on Thursday.

“These are surely effective artillery equipment,” Maj. Gen. Roy Galido, 6th ID commander, said. ”ATMOS is the biggest gun in the Army arsenal to date.”

”This new capability will be utilized against members of terrorist groups who are now on the run because of our relentless focused military operations,” he added.

Galido said the weapons offer high accuracy and ”shoot and scoot” that can operate on existing road networks and bridges and even on rugged terrain.

Acting defense secretary Jose Faustino Jr. said the artillery units would be a “game-changer” in the military’s fight against terrorist groups in Central Mindanao, particularly against the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Western Mindanao Command chief, said the new weapons would be operated by the 10th Field Artillery Battalion of the Army Artillery Regiment based at Camp Lucero in Carmen, Cotabato.

The artillery units were procured under Horizon 2 of the revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Plan.