The Philippine Army will be equipped with high-grade flying munitions and equipment soon with the activation of its new missile, rocket, and aviation units.
Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto, Army commanding general, led the activation of the 1st Land-based Missile System Battery (1LBMS Btry), 2nd Multiple Launch Rocket System Battery (2MLRS Btry), and a provisional Aviation “Bagwis” Regiment (AvnR) in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija the other day.
According to Alberto, they will play a “vital” role in the Army’s fight against terrorism, communist insurgency, and other internal and external threats.
“We put primacy on the activation of these units in order to continuously enhance our aviation and air defense capability as we operate with the intent to be a modern and well-equipped Army, to address fast evolving threats, and finish the insurgency at the soonest time possible,” Alberto said.
The 1LBMS Btry and 2MLRS Btry were placed under the supervision of the Army Artillery Regiment and are expected to augment the troops’ firepower in large-scale armed confrontation for internal defense and security engagements.
Alberto said the activation of the two AAR units was in line with the Army’s development of missile and air defense units.
He said the missile unit aims to “deny areas of enemy approach as well as suppress their air capabilities” while the air defense unit will “protect the force against air threats.”
Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, Army spokesperson, bared that the acquisition of a multiple launch rocket system has been included in their modernization program. “It’s already in the pipeline. If I’m not mistaken, we will buy that from South Korea,” he disclosed. No other detail was provided on the acquisition.
On the other hand, the assets for the land-based missile system have yet to be finalized.
“We have no asset yet for that unit but what we are doing in the Army is we’re anticipating already, planning to develop, and organize, to have these capabilities,” Zagala explained.
The AvnR was an “improved” version of the Army Aviation Battalion which was tasked to maintain its current fleet of fixed-wing aircraft for special aviation missions while developing its capabilities in armed reconnaissance, air assault, and air medical evacuation. (Martin Sadongdong)
