PAF Welcomes Additional C-208B Grand Caravan

02 Mei 2025

C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft for the Philippine Air Force (photos: PAF)

As part of its ongoing modernization efforts, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) welcomed the arrival of one (1) C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft during an Acceptance, Turn-over, and Blessing (ATOB) Ceremony held on April 24, 2025, at Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, Pasay City, with Lieutenant General Arthur M Cordura PAF, Commanding General, PAF, as the Guest of Honor. This aircraft marks the first arrival of a new air asset for this year, reinforcing the PAF’s capability to support AFP operations and national development efforts.

The C-208B Caravan EX aircraft, which arrived on April 16, 2025, at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, underwent a stringent technical inspection. It was funded through the Philippine General Appropriations Act of 2023 and acquired from Servo Aerotrade Services Inc., and manufactured by Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kansas, USA.

This versatile C-208B EX aircraft joins three (3) others of its kind in the PAF inventory, which have been heavily used for a wide range of missions, including troop and cargo transport, medical evacuation, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and humanitarian assistance.

Notably, this aircraft is part of the PAF’s continuing platform acquisition program, aimed at modernizing and expanding its fleet to meet evolving operational demands. In 2024, the PAF accepted several key platforms under Horizon 2 of the AFP Modernization Program. These included two (2) T-129 ATAK helicopters, 10 S-70i Blackhawk helicopters (part of a larger acquisition of 32 units from Poland), one (1) Fixed Air Surveillance Radar System, and a Ground-Based Air Defense System. Furthermore, the PAF also welcomed a C-130H tactical transport aircraft on February 16, 2024, under the U.S. government's Excess Defense Articles (EDA) Program.

These strategic fleet enhancements underscore the PAF's commitment to a stronger defense posture and more effective disaster response, ensuring greater capability and readiness in addressing emerging national and regional security concerns. Particularly, the PAF’s airlift assets, such as the C-130s, C-295s, and C-208s, along with rotary assets like the newly acquired medium-lift Blackhawk helicopters, are expected to support the AFP Unified Command's operational requirements for the upcoming midterm national elections.

(PAF)