Notice to Proceed for Phl Air Force GBADS released in Sep. 2019

The Notice to Proceed to the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Rafael Advanced Systems for the PAF GBADS

This is a late Post, the Department of National Defense (DND) changed their Website a couple of Months ago and it turns out they uploaded a couple of Files out there as well that I only noticed just now. 

Like the Notice To Proceed (NTP) for the Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) Ground Based Air Defense System (GBADS) for example which issued to the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Israeli Company Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd since the transaction is thru a Negotiated Procurement. 

Phl Army Horizon 1 and 2 Modernization Lists

Screenshot of an Illustration from the Article, "A Glimpse of the Philippine Army Modernization Projects" from the Army Compass Publication

The Philippine Army (PA) released their official list of Modernization Projects on their 1st Quarter 2020 Edition of the Army Compass, the Official PA Quarterly Publication in an Article titled, “A Glimpse of the Philippine Army Modernization Projects”.

Included in the Article are the two-page Illustration above, and the Lists and Pictures as shown below. 

AFP approved Phl Army Land Based and Air Defense Missile Projects

Screenshot of the Article, "Army Modernization: A Counter to the Next Phase of Conflict" from the Army Compass Publication

An Article titled, “Army Modernization: A Counter to the Next Phase of Conflict” on the 4th Quarter 2020 Edition of the Army Compass (the Official Philippine Army Quarterly Publication), said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Senior Leaders had already approved two Projects for the Philippine Army (PA) which are described as “Game Changer Projects”.

These are the Land Based Missile System (LBMS) and the Medium Range Air Defense System (MRADS) Projects. The Article though did not provide additional Details like which Systems the PA is looking at for these Projects. 

US State Sec. Nominee Blinken blamed the Duterte Gov't on the SCS

Biden's Nominee for the US Secretary of State Position Antony Blinken, Photo from Wikimedia Commons

Antony Blinken was nominated by the new United States (US) President Joe Biden to be the Secretary of State of his Administration. The Position is equivalent to the Foreign Affairs Secretary Position here in the Philippines. 

Eight Months ago in May 2020, before the US Presidential Elections when he was just the Foreign Policy Adviser of Biden, during an Interview with CBS News he blamed President Rodrigo Duterte on the issue of China’s aggression in the South China Sea (SCS). 

Another Fierce Duterte Critic Patrick Leahy is now US Senate President

Sen. Patrick Leahy who is now the US Senate President. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

As if things couldn’t get more "interesting" … yesterday I posted about how fierce Duterte Critic Richard “Dick” Durbin got the position of Majority Whip, the third highest Position in the United States (US) Senate. 

Well it turns out that another fierce Critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, Patrick Leahy, now sits on the very top Position of the US Senate as Senate President. Of course they prefer to use the term “President Pro Tempore of the US Senate” there. 

Fierce Duterte Critic Dick Durbin now US Senate Majority Whip

Sen. Dick Durbin, now the Majority Whip of the US Senate. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

An interesting development just Days into the inauguration of new United States (US) President Joe Biden as one of the fiercest Critics of the Duterte Administration, US Senator Richard “Dick” Durbin has now been assigned to the position of “Majority Whip” of the US Senate. 

As per the US Senate Website itself, the Majority Whip is the Assistant to the Majority Floor Leader who is “… responsible for mobilizing votes within their parties on major issues. In the absence of a party floor leader, the Whip often serves as acting Floor Leader".

US bullying India not to buy the S-400 SAM from Russia

The United States (US) is now bullying India into dropping its acquisition of the S-400 Triumf Surface to Air Missile (SAM) System from Russia. 

Note that India has no problems with Russia, in fact their relationship with Russia has been very good over the last couple of Decades.