[sukhoi-30mki]

2 Z-9 night attack variants

[A.A. Cunningham]

including one in April when a chopper on a training flight hit a motorcycle in the central Philippines, killing nine people.

Wonder if that pilot used to drive a Jeepney in Olongapo.

[Androcles]

What are these like? Are they fit for purpose?

Given that their enemies aren’t the best equipped, I can see why the US/Euro ones which may be better but are normally more expensive are not their preferred option. As long as they can do the job.

[Tai_Chung]

Defence ties between China and the Philippines -- a longtime U.S. ally -- have grown steadily since 2004

I thought there were tensions between China and the Philippines over the Spratly islands. If I recall, they even fired upon each other.

Did China ever dismantle their "research" center?

Is the Philippines sucking-up to China out of fear or do they just care about getting it cheap?

The Philippines has 40 helicopters, mostly second-hand, donated by the United States as part of military assistance

The US gave them 40 helicopters and it hasn't created enough goodwill for them to exclude other countries when purchasing 8 more helicopters. What's up with that?

[Robe]

Heathens probably don’t even have a “Jesus Nut” on ‘em

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

On the one hand, cheap--which is useful for a poor country.

On the other hand, will they break down in the air, or after a few flights?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Asia pinglist ping.

[Candor7]

Hey, these choppers were rejected by Toys-R-Us!

LOL.

The Red China hegemony proceeds apace. Japan has to be released from its constitutional restriction not to produce weapons of war for export. Japan could be producing choppers that would make these Red China clunkers look like dinosaurs.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Just keep the paint job, away from the little kaibigans.

[Zhang Fei]

Very risky, since the Philippines' most likely opponent is China. (How do you get parts from China in the middle of a shooting war?) I guess they're relying on Uncle Sam to fight off a full-scale Chinese invasion attempt. But what if the Chinese are slowly nibbling away at its seven thousand islands?

I suspect a deal with China also involves more room for kickbacks to Filipino leaders. I would express sympathy for the Filipino people, except for the fact that they voted these crooks in.