US Army to deliver 114 units of M113A2 APC to the Armed Forces of Philippine this month 41012155

Defence & Security News - Philippine
 
US army to deliver 114 units of M113A2 APC to the Armed Forces of Philippine this month
A total of 77 units of M113A2 Armed Personnel Carriers (APCs) from the US arrived in Subic Wednesday evening, December 9, and another 37 units are scheduled to arrive next week in time for the transfer of all 114 armored vehicles to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) later in the month, the US embassy in Manila announced in a statement on Thursday, December 10.
     
US army to deliver 114 units of M113A2 APC to the Armed Forces of Philippine this month 640 001M113A2 Armored Personnel Carriers
     
The additional APCs will boost the 343 armored assets in the Army inventory. They will undergo tests before deployment and will also be equipped with heavy machine guns. The light tracked vehicles will provide secure transport to troops who will be inserted into combat zones.

The vehicles were acquired through the Excess Defense Article program of the US. Under this program, military equipment from the US will be transferred without cost to allied countries.

The transfer is a result of a formal request made by the AFP to assist in their defense modernization efforts," said the US embassy. The transfer of the armored vehicles has long been approved by the US government but the Philippine defense department had to source the funds to be able to transport them to the Philippines, according to Rappler.

The Philippine military is battling Asia's longest-running insurgency. It has given itself until 2016 to wipe out the guerrillas.