The Armed Forces of the Philippines thanked the United States government Monday for donating a package of smart munitions and cutting-edge military assets and systems.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien turned over the package of precision-guided missiles and munitions, including 100 TOW-2A (tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided) missiles; 12 ITAS, and 24 Mark 82s or unguided, low-drag, and general-purpose bombs to Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay City.
Also in attendance were Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., and AFP chief Gen. Gilbert Gapay.
"These 'smart munitions' with such capability and precision will aid immensely the AFP in ridding the country of terrorist menaces," said Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesperson.
The US donation was estimated to be $18 million or around P870 million.
The precision-guided munitions are seen to greatly increase the accuracy of the military in conducting airstrikes, Arevalo said.
It proved to be crucial during the Marawi City siege in 2017 where around a dozen soldiers were killed in an airstrike after Air Force pilots were forced to use ordinary and less accurate bombs to purge Daesh-inspired terrorists who tried to establish a caliphate in the country.
Lorenzana admitted that the military ran out of precision-guided munitions during the early days of the war.
"We may have been successful in counter-terrorism operations – most notably in Marawi – with ordinary munitions fitted in our legacy aircraft. But with the advent of these missiles and munitions, we are certain that they will greatly boost our campaigns and contribute to the global drive to fight and defeat terrorists," Arevalo said.
Lorenzana confirmed the government's acquisition of smart bombs from Washington last week.
Lorenzana had said that precision-guided munitions can be dropped at a hostile target "with pinpoint accuracy."