Decision Awaited on Philippine Light Tanks

30 November 2019

Harimau medium tank by PT Pindad (photo : FNSS)

The Philippines has still not made a decision on what platforms it will choose for its extant light tank procurement, although contenders believe it is likely to occur by Q1 of 2020 because of budgetary deadlines. In the meantime, several contenders were out in force at Defense & Security 2019 in Bangkok, including Excalibur Army and PT Pindad.

The Philippine project is divided into two components: a tracked and a wheeled light tank both fitted with a 105mm weapon. Shephard understands that contenders for the former include the Hanwha K21-105 from South Korea, the General Dynamics European Land Systems ASCOD 2 (a 120mm-armed version is pictured below) and the PT Pindad Harimau/FNSS Kaplan medium tank.

Meanwhile, there is also a trio of platforms vying for the 8x8 wheeled requirement: Excalibur Army from the Czech Republic with the Pandur II, Iveco with the Centauro II and Otokar in Turkey with the Arma.

Hanwha K21 105mm (photo : Shephard)

Others were invited to respond to an RfI issued by the Philippine Army’s relevant Technical Working Group, but the Maxdefense Philippines blogsite reports that the above six have been shortlisted for the government-to-government deal.

The army realised its need for vehicles with heavier guns after the dust had settled on the battle for Marawi in the southern Philippines, where troops struggled to eject Islamic insurgents from the urban terrain. The army believes a mix of wheeled and tracked vehicles will give the optimal balance of mobility.

According to Philippine procurement laws, a selected piece of equipment must be in service with the source country’s armed forces as well as at least two foreign militaries. According to the above list, PT Pindad’s Harimau would not qualify and nor would Hanwha’s offering given that the IFV version of the K21 is used only by the Republic of Korea Army.

General Dynamics ASCOD2 medium tank (photo : GDELS)

Meanwhile, in terms of 8x8 wheeled platforms, the Pandur II is used by three militaries and soon by Indonesia, while the Centauro has been procured by four nations. The Arma, on the other hand, is used only by Bahrain. This regulation could thus prove pivotal in choosing the eventual winner.

Another issue relates to politics and sanctions. Of all these offerings in both the tracked and wheeled categories, only two turrets are available, either from John Cockerill Defence (formerly CMI Defence) or OTO Melara. The former is on offer for the K21-105, Harimau/Kaplan and Arma, and the Italian Hitfact MkII 105mm turret on the remaining three vehicles.

However, Belgium is known to have imposed tight controls on the export of military equipment to the Philippines because of concerns over human rights abuses. Although a Belgian government official earlier told Shephard that no sanctions existed for the Philippines, the Southeast Asian country is known to be experiencing serious difficulties in obtaining equipment from other Belgian companies.

Pandur II with 105mm gun built locally by PT Pindad (photo : defence.pk)

Shephard believes these above factors may limit the available platforms to just three for the Philippines: the ASCOD 2, Pandur II and Centauro II.

Shephard spoke to Excalibur Army at the Bangkok show, with the Czech concern holding a licence to produce the Pandur II. Jakub Cmuchalek, territory sales director, said his company is cooperating with General Dynamics and that the tender is being led by Elbit Systems. The Israeli company has enjoyed tremendous sales successes in the Philippines, including the refurbishment of numerous M113s with new weapon and digital systems, which must provide some kind of advantage.

A further benefit could be obtained by Manila if the two platforms from the Elbit Systems-led teaming arrangement are selected to equip the army’s Mechanized Infantry Division. That would mean the entire light tank acquisition could be more easily managed.

Iveco Centauro II with 120mm gun (photo : Defence24)

Shephard understands that the Elbit Systems offer includes 30 vehicles: 18 tracked vehicles, 10 wheeled vehicles and two tracked support vehicles (command and recovery). While the Philippines originally said it wanted 44 vehicles for this Horizon 2 project, its budget of PHP9.484 billion ($190 million) is certainly insufficient.

The Philippine Army is also procuring a single 105mm tank gunnery simulator, although this seems somewhat premature given that the actual vehicle has not been selected yet. The army is seeking a full-motion simulator for PHP36.2 million ($720,000), but it is rather odd that the simulator has been separated from the light tank procurement. Bids were due on 29 August.

Cmuchalek said Excalibur Army had enjoyed other recent sales successes in Southeast Asia as well, including engineering vehicles for Vietnam and a significant number of M3 amphibious bridging systems for Indonesia.

Otokar Arma 8x8 with 105mm gun (photo : Otokar)

Indonesia’s MoD also signed a $82 million agreement with PT Pindad in April to procure Pandur II vehicles fitted with an Ares 30mm unmanned turret (a licenced Elbit UT30 MK2), but PT Pindad is yet to finalise a separate contract with Excalibur Army for local production.

Cmuchalek was unable to disclose how many vehicles this project entails, but Shephard previously reported it was for 22 vehicles.

(Shephard)