MALAYA EDITORIAL: AFP MODERNIZATION
MANILA, FEBRUARY 27, 2010 (MALAYA) ‘More Broncos probably is the better alternative.’WE always have a good laugh every time we see the OV-10 Bronco light attack plane being described as a "bomber."
Sure, the Broncos in the Air Force inventory are capable of carrying bombs up to 500 pounds and many are, in fact, used in that "bomber" role in counter-insurgency operations. Most of the time, however, the Broncos are more effective as ground attack planes using rockets.
A Bronco on a routine target exercise crashed the other day, killing its two-man crew. This prompted the grounding of the dozen or so other Broncos as investigators sought to determine the cause of the crash – whether mechanical malfunction, human error or bad weather.
But even as investigators have yet to gather the wreckage of the plane, this being election season, politicians were quick to issue calls for the modernization of the Armed Forces.
The Armed Forces indeed needs to be modernized. The issue is what kind of modernization are the pols talking about?
Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., spokesman of the Armed Forces, said the current tag for the long-delayed modernization program is P331 billion. That amount, to be shared among the Air Force and the two other major services, Army and Navy, corresponds to about one-fifth of the total government appropriations for 2010.
Given the competing demand for government resources, it is highly unlikely that P331 billion – on top of the regular appropriations of the AFP – would be available in the next five years or even double that period.
And talking about Air Force modernization, the lessons to be learned from the recent Bronco crash is not for the acquisition of state of the art aircraft or weapons systems which the country could not afford. Rather, the lesson is for the adoption of equipment and arms appropriate for the country’s military needs.
The Broncos are light attack and observation planes that go back to the Vietnam War. Despite their 60’s vintage, they have proven successful in operations against communist and secessionist guerrillas in the South. Their airworthiness must, of course, be ensured through good maintenance, but chucking them out and replacing them with new aircraft with all the latest bells and whistles does not make sense. More Broncos probably is the better alternative.
As with the Broncos, a good case could probably be made for the "obsolete" equipment and weapons in the AFP inventory.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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