Barely two weeks after an announcement that government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) requests by the Philippines to Washington for potential buys of U.S.-sourced attack helicopters had been cleared by the State Department, it appears the price tags involved are bigger than Manila’s budget.
Defense Secretary for the Philippines, Delfin Lorenzana, has stated the money ring-fenced for the potential acquisition amounts to PHP13 billion ($257 million), whereas the two offers of six AH-64E Apaches and six Bell Helicopters AH-1Z Vipers come with estimated price tags of $1.5 billion and $450 million, respectively. The difference in price is partially due to the more extensive list of weaponry and quantity of weapons.
The Philippines would also like to procure at least six Turkish T129 ATAK helicopters, which are a derivative of the AgustaWestland-designed A-129 Mangusta attack helicopter. Defense Secretary Lorenzana confirmed the Philippines’ interest in securing a contract for the T129s on December 7, 2018.