Philippine CAS aircraft bid edges forward
The ongoing and bloody battle to recapture the town of Marawi from Islamic militants of the Maute group in Mindanao is illustrating the seriousness of delays in Philippine Air Force (PAF) efforts to acquire six new close air support (CAS) aircraft.
Efforts to select a CAS platform have been tarrying for four years with failures to advance beyond pre-bidding on three previous occasions. However, on 7 June one contender was declared sole compliant bidder.
A pre-bid conference held last month witnessed three vendors attending: Embraer proffering the EMB 314 Super Tucano, Beechcraft with its AT-6B Texan II Wolverine and
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