FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija – Slowly but surely, the Philippine Army (PA) is conquering the skies.
The PA continues to modernize its aerial assets to speed up the growth of the Aviation “Hiraya” Regiment, the army’s aviation unit, to complement their land-based forces during combat and non-combat missions.
This was highlighted during the graduation of 13 Army troopers, led by no less than the PA commanding general, Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., from the Aviator Qualification Course (AQC) “Paraluman” Class 19-2021 of the Aviation Regiment here on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
“Many were asking me why I have to undergo this qualification course. It’s because I wanted to understand how it feels to fly a helicopter and I saw the need for us to have an aviation unit in the Army,” Brawner said, recalling an incident when he was a younger commander where two of his men died due to combat wounds and late response of medical evacuation.
The aviation qualification course started in December 2021 where student aviators were trained on the basic principles of aviation through the orientation and ground phases, and application of theories by visual flying, advanced flight phase and cross-country navigational in-flight of air assets.
“Today’s culmination ceremony marks another milestone for the Hiraya Regiment’s Aviation School Center as it outstandingly fulfilled its vision of training, capacitating and empowering future Army aviators,” said Department of National Defense (DND) Officer in Charge Jose Faustino Jr., who was the guest of honor and speaker.
Right now, there are now more than 70 Army aviators since the establishment of the Aviation Regiment in 2019.
Aside from this, the PA also received a Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB) Bo 105 helicopter donated by Dornier Technology, a local maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) company based in Pampanga.
The MBB Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose utility helicopter. The Bolkow 105 is the first helicopter worldwide that uses a rigid rotor head without a flapping hinge and a swivel joint.
Brawner said that the donated helicopter will be used by the Aviation Regiment to augment the service’s lone air ambulance which is often used to extract combat-wounded troops during missions, and support humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations in times of calamities.
The Aviation Regiment, which was activated to provide aviation support and perform aerial reconnaissance for Army missions, is currently equipped with five rotary-wing aircraft and six fixed-wing aircraft.
The donated helicopter is expected to serve as a “catalyst” for the development of the Army’s future rotary aviation and a “springboard” to improve the capacity of the Army aviation.
“Finally, we have this very important air asset at the hands of the army aviation of the Philippine Army,” Brawner said, noting that the acquisition of the helicopter will be instrumental in improving their aerial capabilities.