“Positive Developments” on the Philippines’ acquisition of Mi-171 Helicopters from Russia

An Mi-171Sh Helicopter of the Peruvian Army, Photo from Wikimedia Commons

The Philippines’ acquisition of 16 Mi-171 Hip Helicopters from Russia was mentioned very briefly and with no other details during President Rodrigo Duterte’s Telesummit with Russian President Vladimir Putin recently. 

Quoting directly the News Report: “He (Duterte) noted positive developments in the procurement of 16 heavy-lift helicopters, adding that the Philippines looks forward to cooperating with Russia to speed up the modernization of defense assets and systems”.

The Philippines could get the Mi-171 Hip Helicopter from Russia

An Mi-171 Hip Helicopter of the Bangladesh Army. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

The Department of National Defense (DND) told the Defense Publication Jane’s recently that it is close to a decision on whether or not to acquire 16 Mi-171 Hip Helicopters from Russia. 

No Notice of Award (NOA) has been given to the Russian Manufacturer of the Aircraft yet, and the possible acquisition is valued at Php 12.8 billion (Usd 265 million at the Exchange Rate of Usd 1 = Php 48.3).

DND and AFP Personnel visited Russia recently to look at the Mi-171 Helicopter

A delegation of Department of National Defense (DND) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel visited Russia recently in relation to the planned acquisition of Mi-171 Hip Helicopters by the Philippines.

Most of the delegation was composed of veteran Philippine Air Force (PAF) Pilots. No Contract has been signed yet, but a target delivery date of the middle of 2021 has been announced in this post.

SOURCE: Official Philippine Embassy in Russia Facebook Page Post - 03/13/20, 1630H

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Duterte confirms order of Russian Transport Helicopters

President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed that the Philippines had already ordered 12 Transport Helicopters from Russia. As per Duterte’s exact words, “we have placed the orders now”.

Although he did not mention the model of the helicopter, these are likely the Mi-17 Hip Helicopters that were reported a couple of months ago that were being bought for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

The actual number seem to be down, though, as previous reports put it at 16-17 units, but Duterte only said 12.

SOURCE: Duterte: Philippines has ordered Russian Helicopters

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Sec. Lorenzana denies that there is an impending Mi-17 deal

Uh-oh, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana himself has come out to deny that there is an impending deal for the Philippines to buy Mi-17 Hip Helicopters from Russia.

Lorenzana said during his interview with the Business Mirror that:

* There is no Contract yet nor will any be signed during President Rodrigo Duterte's trip to Russia.

* The Philippine Air Force (PAF) wants to get the Mi-17.

* However, he also said that "our Technical Working Group (TWG)" is still studying it.

Looking at the Business Mirror's initial report a couple of days ago about the supposed Mi-17 deal, they didn't cite any sources then, meaning that their sources wanted to remain anonymous.

From his statements, it seems that the PAF wanted the aircraft, but the DND's TWG is still considering the aircraft as of now.

With this development, I think it is better to just let the government work out among themselves how they want to go about this. I only hope that they will be transparent and provide regular updates to the public.

So that's it, folks, contrary to the previous report by Business Mirror itself, it looks like the Mi-17 deal with Russia is still a big question mark.

SOURCE: No rush to buy Russian Choppers, Lorenzana says

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Additional details on the Philippines’ acquisition of the Mi-17 Helicopter

The Manila Bulletin provided some additional details on the Philippines’ purchase of the Mi-17 Helicopter from Russia:

* The free Mi-17 Helicopter that came along the 16 units to be procured is supposed to be for Very, Very Important Person (VVIP) Transport.

* The sale is reportedly being offered to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) thru a Private Company.

* There is reportedly some concern that the sale is being rushed.

So it seems like the extra Mi-17 could be specially fitted and be assigned to the Presidential Airlift Wing of the PAF.

As for the sale going thru a third party, it could be a mechanism in an attempt to bypass the United States’ (US) Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) Law. One follower did say that in a comment, but then subsequently deleted that comment.

However, some articles have come out to discuss this before, like this one from the National Interest: This Trick lets Countries buy deadly Russian Weapons while avoiding U.S. Sanctions. At any rate, I hope it works.

As for the sale being “rushed”, as I mentioned before, talk about getting Mi-17 Helicopters went as early as late 2016 or three years ago, so I don’t understand why this is being described as “rushed”.

If they only started the legwork for this sale recently, then somebody could be sleeping on the job, maybe unintentionally or intentionally to the benefit of the Americans.

Some transactions can move fast, like the purchase of the FA-50PH Fighting Eagles, for example, which took less than a year from Contract Negotiations to Signing.

REFERENCES:
* PH poised to buy 16 Russian Choppers; Duterte all set for Moscow visit
* Hip or Hind Helicopters for the AFP?
* Philippine FA-50 Fighting Eagle Acquisition Timeline

Update (10/04/19): This report turned out to be false after Sec. Lorenzana denied it. See this article for more information - Sec. Lorenzana denies that there is an impending Mi-17 deal

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Late 2016 Blog about the Mi-17 Hip Helicopter

Here’s my blog from late 2016 about the Mi-17 Hip Helicopter when talk of acquiring it came out that year. Then talk about it disappeared from public view … until today (Monday, September 30, 2019), when news of a deal for its acquisition during President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Russia came out.

I also mentioned the Mi-35 Hind in that blog, but as you can read from that article, it didn’t score as well as the Hip as per an American study.

So now we know why the United States (US) wants to have military exercises with our armed forces the equivalent of almost every single day next year (2020) … Just kidding, LOL.

Link: Hip or Hind Helicopters for the AFP?

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Philippines to acquire 17 Mi-17 Helicopters from Russia

Great news indeed this morning as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is reportedly set to procure 16 Mi-17 Medium Lift Helicopters worth Usd 14.7 million each, and the deal is expected to be signed by President Rodrigo Duterte during his visit to Russia.

Russia is also providing an additional helicopter for free, bringing the total number of Mi-17 helicopters to be acquired by the Philippines to 17.

SOURCE: AFP set to procure 16 Russian Choppers

Update (10/04/19): This report turned out to be false after Sec. Lorenzana denied it. See this article for more information - Sec. Lorenzana denies that there is an impending Mi-17 deal

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