The secretary of the Department of National Defense of the Philippines, Delfin Lorenzana, said in recent days that by January the country should finalize a further agreement for the purchase of 6 maritime patrol boats and 32 Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk tactical transport military helicopters. The value of the deal, which has already been approved by the government, is 590 million dollars for the naval vessels and 630 million dollars for the aircraft.

The deal to acquire the six maritime patrol aircraft was signed with Australia-based Austal. The 32 S-70i Black Hawks, on the other hand, will be delivered by the Polish Pzl Mielec -contractor of the Lockheed Martin Group- from which Manila had bought 16 other aircraft in 2019 at a price of 240 million dollars.

The Manila government's announcement confirms a change in strategy that has taken place over the past year that could be caused by rising tensions in the Far East. In fact, the Philippines has commissioned a total of 48 new Black Hawks in two orders. In addition, in December last year a 550 million dollar contract was signed for two missile corvettes produced by the South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries.