Philippine Air Force gets new C-295M plane from Spain

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has taken the delivery of a new Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft from Spain, at a ceremony held at the Haribon Hangar of the Clark Air Base in Pampanga, on November 11.

In a statement on Tuesday, Lieutenant General Rozzano Briguez, PAF commanding general, said the C-295M aircraft will begin its operational mis­sion by transporting troops, equipment, and relief goods in support of earthquake- affected victims in Mindanao.

The aircraft is the fourth C-295M purchased from Airbus Defense and Space as part of the Command and Control Fixed-Wing Turbo Prop Acquisition (C2FWTPA) project.

Manila signed an agreement worth PHP5.29bn ($118m) for 3 C-295 aircraft in February 2014. Deliveries of these planes was completed two years later, in February 2016.

“A Notice of Award has been issued last October 16 in favor of Airbus for the procurement of one (additional) unit of command-and-control fixed-wing turboprop aircraft for the PAF with a contract price of PHP1.8 billion (around $35 million),” Philippine News Agency reported in October 2018.