Philippines still eying F-16s, but costs are causing political headaches

MANILA, Philippines — Negotiations between Lockheed Martin and the Philippine government over the potential purchase of F-16s continue, but the deal remains in limbo while officials here seek ways to break the fiscal deadlock that has hounded the fighter jet acquisition program.

Earlier this week, the Philippine ambassador to the U.S., Jose Manuel Romualdez, said the Philippines is “not closing its doors” to the possibility of acquiring the American jets, but it would take “imaginative and creative ways” to fund the program.

Late last year, Romualdez said acquisitions are “on hold” due to funding, which is being allocated to other projects.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo in November that he had returned Lockheed’s proposal, which carries a $5.58 billion price tag for 20 F-16 Block 70/72 with AN/APG-83 AESA radars and the establishment of a research and training center in the Philippines.

“It was beyond the approved budget ceiling, so they have to resubmit [some documents]. Anything is under consideration. What is not in consideration right now—which should be considered—is the funding,” Teodoro said.

The Philippines has an ongoing bid to refresh its fleet after retiring 10 Northrop F-5 A/B Freedom Fighters in 2005.

To fill operational gaps, the government acquired 12 FA-50 combat jets in 2015 and last year signed the deal for another fleet. The FA-50s were to serve as trainer jets before the air force’s upgrade to more advanced warplanes.

The defense department is reportedly looking at purchasing around 40 multirole fighter jets under the existing modernization program. But funding remains the bigger problem.

Of 188 projects under a three-phase Horizon military modernization program, only 59 have been accomplished so far due to limited appropriations.

In 2025, Congress slashed the proposed 50 billion pesos ($863 million) fund down to 35 billion pesos, which derailed six projects.

While the country’s defense budget jumped by 12.3% at 310 billion pesos ($5.35 billion) this year, modernization funds stagnated at 40 billion pesos ($691 million).

“Let’s stop kidding around. If we only get 40 billion pesos every year, let’s just do project-based programs and opt for loans with longer financing terms,” Teodoro told lawmakers during last year’s deliberations.

Congress, however, increased “unprogrammed” funds — or allocations that could be funded if cash becomes available by year’s end — to 50 billion. But budget experts say these funds are too iffy to serve as planning assumptions.

The F-16s are not the only options on the table for Manila. The department has received pitches and is in discussions for Saab’s JAS Gripen E/F, Leonardo’s Eurofighter Typhoons, and Korea Aerospace Industry’s new KF-21 Boramae.

When asked if the defense department had already chosen a warplane, Teodoro said: “Give me the funds today, I’ll make the decision.”

Leilani Chavez is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. Her reporting expertise is in East Asian politics, development projects, environmental issues and security.

菲律宾马尼拉——洛克希德·马丁公司与菲律宾政府就潜在购买F-16战斗机的谈判仍在继续，但由于菲律宾官员正在寻求打破困扰该战斗机采购计划的财政僵局的方法，该交易仍处于停滞状态。

本周早些时候，菲律宾驻美国大使何塞·曼努埃尔·罗穆亚尔德斯表示，菲律宾“并未排除”购买美国战机的可能性，但需要“富有想象力和创造性的方法”来为该项目筹集资金。

去年年底，罗穆亚尔德斯表示，由于资金被分配给其他项目，收购计划“暂停”。

国防部长吉尔伯托·特奥多罗 (Gilberto Teodoro) 11 月在阿吉纳尔多营地告诉记者，他已退回洛克希德公司的提案，该提案价值 55.8 亿美元，用于购买 20 架配备 AN/APG-83 AESA 雷达的 F-16 Block 70/72 战斗机，并在菲律宾建立一个研究和培训中心。

“由于超出了批准的预算上限，他们必须重新提交一些文件。所有事项都在考虑之中。目前尚未考虑——但应该考虑——的是资金问题，”特奥多罗说道。

菲律宾在 2005 年退役了 10 架诺斯罗普 F-5 A/B 自由战士战斗机后，一直在努力更新其机队。

为了弥补作战能力的不足，政府于2015年采购了12架FA-50战斗机，并于去年签署了另一批订单。这些FA-50战斗机将在空军升级到更先进的战机之前作为教练机使用。

据报道，国防部正考虑根据现有的现代化计划采购约40架多用途战斗机。但资金仍然是更大的问题。

在分三个阶段实施的“地平线”军事现代化计划的 188 个项目中，由于拨款有限，目前只完成了 59 个。

2025 年，国会将拟议的 500 亿比索（8.63 亿美元）基金削减至 350 亿比索，导致六个项目搁浅。

今年该国国防预算增长了 12.3%，达到 3100 亿比索（53.5 亿美元），而现代化资金则停滞在 400 亿比索（6.91 亿美元）。

“别开玩笑了。如果我们每年只能拿到 400 亿比索，那就应该推行项目制计划，并选择融资期限更长的贷款，”特奥多罗在去年的审议中对立法者们说道。

然而，国会将“未列入计划”的资金——即如果年底前资金到位即可拨付的款项——增加到500亿美元。但预算专家表示，这些资金的不确定性太大，不能作为规划的依据。

F-16并非马尼拉的唯一选择。国防部已收到萨博JAS“鹰狮”E/F、莱昂纳多欧洲战斗机“台风”以及韩国航空航天工业公司新型KF-21“波拉梅”的方案，目前正在进行磋商。

当被问及国防部是否已经选定战机时，特奥多罗说：“今天给我资金，我来做决定。”

莱拉尼·查韦斯是《防务新闻》的亚洲记者。她的报道专长是东亚政治、发展项目、环境问题和安全。