The Philippine Army (PA) is collaborating with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the development of a locally-designed and produced gun mounts for its armored assets, making them even more lethal.
Through Project COBRA or Controller Operated Battle-Ready Armament, the DOST’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) will develop a technology that would integrate a caliber 50 remote-controlled weapon station to the armored vehicles of the PA.
Maj. Gen. Adonis Bajao, vice commander of PA, said the endeavor will support the local defense industry and help in the realization of the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program of the Department of National Defense (DND) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“With the new design and integration of Project COBRA, we will acquire added strength in firepower capability, particularly for our armored assets,” Bajao said.
The gun mounts of armored vehicles by the Army are often produced when assets are acquired from foreign manufacturers.
But the SRDP program, which was initially introduced in the 1970s, aims to produce weapons, small arms and ammunition, tactical communications equipment, basic land vehicles, and small sea crafts using local materials. This would decrease the dependency of the DND and AFP to foreign markets and help create a robust local defense sector.
Last week, the PA and DOST signed an agreement that will hasten the realization of Project COBRA in a ceremony held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
The PA was represented by Bajao while the DOST side was led by MIRDC Executive Director Robert Dizon. The project will be supported by the Mechatronics and Robotics Society of the Philippines.
“Project COBRA demonstrates DOST’s commitment to help soldiers effectively fulfill their mandate to serve the people and secure the land, and to bolster the Army’s Self-Reliant Defense Posture Program,” DOST Sec. Renato Solidum said.
Aside from Project COBRA, there is also another program of the DOST that is catering to the defense needs of the Philippine Navy (PN).
Initiated in 2019, Project BUHAWI or Building a Universal Mount for Heavy-Barrel Automated Weapon seeks to integrate an automated gun mount for heavy barrel Browning 0.50 caliber machine guns of the PN’s small patrol craft.
The technology was turned over by the DOST to the PN on May 20, 2022.