Air Force wants more 'Hueys' for 2013 polls

MANILA, Philippines - The acquisition of 21 UH-1 helicopters would allow the military to meet the air mobility requirements during the 2013 polls, a defense official said Monday.

Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said the Air Force has requested additional helicopters as it sees an increase in air mobility requirements due to election-related flights.

The poll-related flights are on top of the military operations related to national development and disaster response.

“With the present national security condition, the acquisition of additional combat utility helicopters to augment the existing UH-1 'Huey' fleet is imperative,” Manalo said in a statement.

“Having been the workhorse of AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) tactical operations for many years, the Huey fleet has succumbed to natural attrition due to structural stress and aircraft accidents,” he added.

A report by a Defense department assessment team revealed that there are only 16 mission-capable Hueys in the Air Force inventory. This is 51 units short of the ideal number of operational combat utility helicopters.

The Huey, which falls under the light lift category, is the primary helicopter of the Air Force.

The bidding for the purchase of the 21 UH-1 helicopters will be held on Dec. 4. Six companies have so far bought bidding documents for the project.

The Air Force has recommended that the helicopters be delivered by Feb. 28, 2013 to avoid the danger of being unable to support the air lift requirements for the elections.

The Air Force, then led by Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena, made the request for additional Hueys in 2011.

An Acquisition Decision Memorandum for the project was issued in March 2012. The memorandum would start the procurement and would signal the project’s implementation.

The Department of National Defense (DND) originally intended to acquire the 21 helicopters through negotiated procurement under emergency cases.

DND had asked the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) to allow it to tap negotiated procurement under emergency in buying the helicopters, saying the state of the military’s inventory reflects “a large capability gap.”

The GPPB, however, said the acquisition should be done through public bidding, which is a longer process than negotiated procurement.