The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) will acquire three Beechcraft King Air aircraft from the United States to enhance its maritime domain awareness and strengthen its search and rescue (SAR) capabilities.
PCG commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan signed the Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the aircraft during a bilateral meeting with US Assistant Secretary of War for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs John Noh in Manila on Feb. 16. The acquisition will be funded through the US Foreign Military Financing program. The PCG has not yet disclosed the cost or specific variant of the aircraft.
In a statement, the PCG said the signing comes amid a series of recent maritime tragedies that underscored the need to improve and accelerate SAR operations. Last month, two people died after the Singapore-flagged vessel MV Devon Bay, carrying 21 Filipino crew members, capsized in the West Philippine Sea, part of the country’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea. In a separate incident, at least 57 people were killed when the passenger ferry MV Trisha Kerstin 3, with more than 300 passengers on board, sank off Basilan province.
The additional aircraft will augment the PCG’s small aviation fleet, which currently consists of two Britten-Norman BN-2A-21 Islander aircraft, one Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, and two Airbus H145 helicopters.
During the meeting, Gavan and Noh also discussed the Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System Program, a US Coast Guard initiative that uses advanced environmental data modeling and simulation to improve search planning and increase the likelihood of locating persons in distress at sea. The PCG said the system is expected to significantly enhance its maritime domain awareness and SAR operations.
The PCG, which has been at the forefront of protecting the country’s sovereignty and enforcing maritime laws in the West Philippine Sea and across the archipelago alongside the Philippine Navy, will also become the first foreign coast guard to take part in the US-led Rim of the Pacific exercise in Hawaii later this year. RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime exercise.
