The US State Department approved the sale of light support boats to the Philippines Navy, the sale includes armaments and sensors for an estimated cost of $126 million.
The Government of the Philippines has requested to buy 36 9M Scout Boats (SB); 36 10M Assault Boats (AB); 18 16M Light Support Boats (LSB) along with the following armaments- 156 M240B 7.62x51mm machine guns, 24 M2A1 .50 caliber machine guns and 36 M134D-M, 7.62x51mm, 6-barrel rotary Gatling guns.
Also included are sensors and radios to be mounted on the boats including 36 units of Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) 280HD; 399 NFS-NVG/IR Lasers (AN/PVS-14 and AN/PEQ-15); 102 Thermal Imager Scope (handheld); 210 Heavy Thermal Weapon Sights (AN/PAS-13); 90 Harris Falcon III RF-7850M radios; 270 Harris Falcon III RF-7850S radios; boat spare parts; spare engines and engine components; safety and rescue equipment and others. The estimated cost is $126 million.
The proposed sale will improve the Philippines’ capability to meet current and future threats by force-multiplying the Army’s present ability to operate and control both inland and coastal waterways of southern Philippines.
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