sirs:

just for the sake of information, maybe u can enumerate some of our AFP's hardware. Like in the army, kung anong tanks or wheeled tanks ang meron tyo. Same with the airforce and navy. Like whats our biggest ship and type. Ano po bang tangke yung naka display sa aguinaldo?

salamat!

Tanker,

First off please do not call us sirs. Were not that old. Hehehe!

This could be quite a list, but let me give you the most common:

PAF:

1. F-5A/B Freedom Fighter (about a dozen remaining)
2. F-8P (actually, F-8H) Crusader (retired)
3. S-211 (Planet Models has the PAF markings)
4. F-86D and F
5. Bell 412 Huey
6. Bell 205/UH-1H Huey
7. Hughes MG-520
8. OV-10A and C Bronco
9. SF-260 (piston and turbo, and Layang I conversion)
10. Fokker 27 (Friendship and Maritime)
11. Sikorsky S-76
12. Sikorsky S-70 (Blackhawk, only one remaining, but grounded)
etc... (drop by one of the IPMS-P-BAC meets, we'll just show you some of the pics)

For Phil. Army, here are some of the current items in the inventory:

1. Scorpion light tank (early, a few remaining)
2. YPR-765 (AIFV)
3. M-113 and variants
4. Cadillac-Gage V-150, V-200
5. GKN Simba (there is also a locally developed, and larger, variant)

For the Phil. Marines:

1. LVT-5
2. Cadillac-Gage V-300
3. Cadillac-Gage V-150

Btw, great thread. Wala nang magkaka interes sa AFP kundi tayong mga Pinoy.

buck:

ok sabi nyo eh. sanay kase talaga akong tumawag ng sir. anyway thanks for the infos. of course dapat may interest pa rin tyo sa AFP. like it or not they still have to protect us.

keep it coming pa para sa iba. good day to all.

Buck, sa BOB nyo ba nakuha name nyo?

Tanker,

Yes, sa BOB. Sa IPMS -P-BAC kasi we have a tradition of giving nicknames to members. The thing is, you dont get to choose your nick. Its given to you by your peers. And sometimes the nick is degrading. Hehehe! In BOB the character Buck Compton became a lawyer after the war. So since lawyer ako, well, the rest is history.

For those who were originally members of this great phorum we simply adopted their names here (ex. Fritz, Jeepney, etc), since we consider them a sister/brother org.

:-)

Btw, the largest ship in the Philippine fleet right now is the PS-11, a Buckley-class destroyer escort I believe (Jepot, help please!). About the same size are the few remaining LSTs (mga left-overs from the war). We also have two new build Landing Ships built by Trinity Shipbuilding (LST-550 and-551).

The rest are all patrol vessels (ex-subchasers, and Peacock-class, 3 ships) and patrol craft (Katapangan-class, 78-footers and 64-footers).

I think the AFP also has some HMMWVs and a LOT of M-151s (not sure what variant, but I always see them driving around Manila... I wonder why?)

Blank,

Youre right. The AFP does have some Humvees and MUTTs. Several Humvees were handed over by the US several years back to improve the mobility of the AFP (which has always been a problem). The Philippines used to manufacture the Mini-cruiser as its standard jeep but when the production came to a halt we had to rely upon surplus US M-151s. We still do get these equipment along with surplus M-35 6x6s under the US Excess Defense Articles program.

Humvee!!! You said the magic word! Which ones do we have? May nakita nga ako dati doon sa US Embassy pero di ko alam kung aling unit yon. Do we have the M1025, M966 or the M1046?

We have a merry mix, Shonen. But the most common is the troop carrier, and some armored Humvees. Let me check on the designations. I'll hook you up with Pointer (from IPMS) one of these days. Hes an expert when it comes to Phil. Army vehicles. Hes even done some research on the markings.

Sya nga pala, the Philippine Constabulary used to have the Chaimite too. It looks a lot like the V-150/100.

What about C-130's? The last time I heard there were two(2). Did the Hercules finally made it's last flight?

If you consider the Philippines Coast Guard, they are due to receive a Cyclone-class fast patrol boat from the USA. The Cyclone-class coast guard cutter's top speed is stated to be around 30 knots - around two to five knots faster than the Emilio Jacinto (aka Peacock) class vessels. Currently, one Cyclone cutter is undergoing sea trials in the US with a mixed US and Filipino crew. After the sea trials, the vessel will be delivered to the Philippines sometime this year I guess. The Cyclone was formerly used by the USCG and then mothballed for reasons I forgot (not that they were old, ineffective ships. On the contrary, they are relatively new even in USA standards and quite good). Probably because the USCG's emphasis on using helicopters and UAVs to stop drug-trafficking, and using larger cutters for SAR operations.

Now, about the Buckley - is this still operational? And where is it based? I reckon this is the so-called WW2 frigate mentioned in some old books.

BTW, I heard that out of the three Emilio Jacintos given by the UK, only one is operational, the two serving as spare-parts. Is this true? Any chance BTW on adding at least Penguin AShMs on the Peacock? Looks large enough to carry these short-ranged AShMs. The Emilio Jacintos are IMO the best ships the PN has. It has a modern gun system (76mm OTO Melara I think, or 3-inchers) and even GPS I think. The UK built 6 - 3 serving in Ireland, 3 in HK. When HK was handed over to the PROC, the 3 Peacocks sailed to Manila - accompanying the Royal Yacht IIRC - and the three were given (sold?) by the UK to the Philippines. However, the Emilio Jacinto is quite slow (20 to 26 knots, so sayeth Jane's Fighting Ships), and any 6-engined motorboat the ASG uses which runs at 40 knots IIRC can easily outrun the Emilio Jacinto.

On aircraft, IIRC, we just bought some OV-10s from Thailand recently. I dunno how many and if they have arrived already. I seem to remember that South Korea will be selling to us or have sold some F-5s. If sold, that would explain why Buck's tally for the F-5 as a dozen aircraft, not four.

Alex,
Yes, we have C-130s, a merry mix of Bs, Hs, and L-100s (civilian version). Am not sure about the number actually flying, but your quote of 2 sounds about right. Ive heard news that the other grounded C-130s will be overhauled.

GI,
The figure --- 12 --- F-5As denote the number of serviceable aircraft, not necessarily flying. Even then this is still just a guess. Most have longeron cracking and metal fatigue. The OV-10Cs as I recall were actually donated by Thailand (kakahiya tayo pati SEA countries nagdo-donate na sa tin). The first 4 of 10 have so far been delivered.

You'll be surprised to find out that at least one of the orginal 3 Buckley/Canon class ships is still sailing. Well, every now and then. I heard from Jepot that this ship will dock in Manila Bay soon. There were other ships classified by the PN as "frigates" among which were the BRP Andres Bonifacio (PF-7) and the Rajah Solaiman (IIRC), a former fast transport.

The Cyclone is part of a 14-ship class patrol craft of the USN (not USCG). The new USCG cutters (which are now replacing the Point class has a similar design, and could have been mistaken for the Cyclones). I understand the Cyclone class was originally envisioned as SEAL insertion craft but the noise was unacceptable and the USN decided to discard them. Hopefully, the PN will get more than 1.