The Philippine Air Force (PAF) will showcase to the public its territorial defense capabilities when it celebrates its upcoming 77th founding anniversary next week.
The PAF’s anniversary will be celebrated on July 1 at the Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga and among the highlights is a simulation of a retaking of a besieged territory from enemy forces using different capabilities by the PAF.
“We’re going to have a simulated scenario wherein we need to win back a territory from the enemies. We’re going to do airstrike missions, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance of the area using our unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and we’re going to insert our troops using fast rope insertion and extrication system aboard Black Hawk helicopters,” PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said in a public briefing on Tuesday, June 25.
Further, the PAF will also display its new Ground-Based Aerial Defense System (GBADS) which can detect, identify and neutralize hostile aircraft from the ground.
Also known as the “Spyder,” the GBADS is a highly mobile, medium-range, quick-reaction, day and night, and all-weather air and missile defense system. It is designed to protect critical installations, land-based fixed assets, mobile platforms, and friendly forces from aerial threats such as combat aircraft, attack helicopters, UAVs, incoming missiles, guided munition, and rockets.
The GBADS is regarded as among the finest and most advanced air defense systems in the world, and in certain cases, it was used to neutralize surveillance threats. It was acquired by the Department of National Defense (DND) from Israel as part of the PAF’s GBADS Acquisition Project under the Horizon 2 of the revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program.
The GBADS batteries arrived in September 2022 and were officially turned over to the PAF after undergoing inspection.
Castillo said the PAF has invited President Marcos Jr. to grace the PAF anniversary, which will also feature a fly-by of its assets.
Aside from these events, the PAF held pre-anniversary events in the past month including mall exhibits, blood-letting activities, wellness fairs, and activities for reservists and the media.