US State Dept. OKs ‘possible’ $5B sale of F-16 warplanes to PH
Metro Manila, Philippines - The US State Department approved on Wednesday, April 2, the “possible” sale of 20 F-16 fighter aircrafts to the Philippines for an estimated cost of $5.58 billion.
In a news release, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the Philippines has requested to buy 16 F-16 C Block aircrafts and four F-16 D Block aircrafts.
The other equipment requested included aircraft engines and spares, radars, missile launches and missiles, and anti-aircraft guns, among others.
According to the release, the required certification has been sent to notify the US Congress of the possible Foreign Military Sale.
A Foreign Military Sale is a process where a country may purchase or receive US-made defense equipment and services either “with their own funds or with funds provided through US Government-sponsored assistance programs.”
“In certain cases, defense articles may be obtained through grants or leases,” it stated in the DSCA website.
The US agency said that the selling of these aircrafts and support equipment “will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a strategic partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in Southeast Asia,” the DSCA said.
This approved sale comes days after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit in Manila where he conducted bilateral talks with his Philippine counterpart Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.
Both discussed enhancing military interoperability between the two nations as Hegseth’s visit underscored the Trump administration’s ironclad commitment to the region.
Hegseth said both countries have also agreed to hold bilateral military exercises in Batanes to ramp up cooperation.
Both also greenlit the deployment of “additional advanced capabilities” to the Philippines, which include military assets such as the NMESIS — a land-based anti-ship missile system for the US Marine Corps.
Washington earlier exempted $336 million (₱19.4 billion) in security assistance to the Philippines from the 90-day aid freeze imposed by US President Donald Trump.
