Philippines Offered Loan Package for Purchase of Russian-made Kilo-class Submarines

The Philippine government is considering a soft loan offer from Russia for the acquisition of Kilo-class submarines, as it looks to boost the undersea capabilities of the Philippine Navy (PN).

Russia has newly offered the Philippine Government an economic package to support its potential acquisition of submarines, Arsenio Andolong, the chief of public affairs at the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND), told Jane’s on Tuesday.

“This offer was made last week,” said Andolong. “Russia has said that if we require funds [for the submarine procurement] we could opt for a soft loan to be repaid over a period of time. We are considering the offer, nothing has been agreed”.

The new loan offer was made shortly after the PN confirmed that it was discussing with the Russian Navy the terms of a memorandum of understanding centred on the provision of training and support of submarines.

The Philippine government has accelerated its submarine procurement program in recent years, and the Philippine Ministry of Defense is expected to make a final decision on submarine procurement next year. The number of submarines in this procurement plan may increase to 3.