Sunday, July 12, 2009

Fighter




My entry for this evening is about fighter planes.

They say that for an archipelago like the Philippines, the only way we can able to defend ourselves from foreign invasions is to have a strong air force. Having a strong air force means we could slow down enemy advances before they could make landfall. Since we cannot count on our navy to protect our waters, having an effective air support would at least, in theory, dent the enemy.

During the early sixties, the country could boast having the most advanced fighter squadrons in the whole of South East Asia. In fact, the Indonesians used to train their pilots here upon forming their own air forces.

Now things have changed.

From having supersonic aircraft like this:


Northrop F5
(Retired, 2005)

The entire Philippines is defended by feeble machines like this:


OV10 Bronco
(Donated by the Thai Air Force, 2003)

Only to suffer a tragic fate less than three years after its handover.


Clark Air Base, 2006

Military apparatus say that the country do not require advanced aircraft such as those found elsewhere, for our threats come from within and not from beyond our shores. The hinterlands are overrun with bandits (rebels) and such warfare require a different military doctrine, which means procuring machines like these:


Bell UH-1 Iroquois

Bell 412



C-130 Hercules

But what if they keep on falling off the ground, is there any sense of adding these flying coffins to our hukbo?

I say having a strong military not only deters hostile forces, it gives an impression that our government is never a push-over among diplomatic circles. Knowing that we are at par with our neighbors when it comes to military technology, it becomes a source of national pride.

I remember during the centennial independence celebration in Luneta over a decade ago, a squadron of F5s flypast the parade grounds which was followed by cheers from those who witnessed their barely above-ground passing. Though I maybe a teenager then, my heart spoke of confidence with the government. Coinciding those years, now I believe that we were in a far stable state then than we are today.

I know others would ask why procure such machines when half of the population dies of hunger and sickness. Should we focus our efforts in building our countryside infrastructure and providing better medical care instead of wasting our national budget on these machines? Don't frown, for it is exactly the same argument I have as to why we should keep these thoughts of armament building safely tucked behind our consciousness.


Mikoyan MiG-29
(Russia)


AH-64 Apache

Because as long as these procurements would benefit the pockets of a few; and as long as we don't truly understand the depth and meaning of the word "nationalism;" and as long as the stale, corrupt government of the present remains,

There is no use dreaming of pride-stirring military flypasts.

Until we are finally at peace with ourselves, and have learned to take pride and dignity of our nation,

defending our airspace should be the least of our concern.

For Gripen

11 comments:

ACRYLIQUE said...

Wow! prelude of decepticons. :)

I love watching them fly. pero scary sumakay. :)

blagadag said...

The Philippines is really going into the drain. Thanks to the present dispensation of those in power that never cease to cling.

gillboard said...

i agree with you that we need to focus more on the internal forces that's corrupting this country before turning on the external forces.

ash said...

i thought this entry had a subliminal connection to your "open city" post. :)

but i agree, that it's a matter of making one's priorities - whether we choose to fight and not feeding, or we feed but die without fighting.

Mugen said...

Ash Now that you mentioned it, yeah, I realized it has something to do with my situation. Ehehehe.

Gillboard Kitams. How can we be proud of our forces when we cannot be proud of our government?

Blagadag Hopefully, by 2010. We will have a new leadership. (Sana)

Acrylique Theyre fun to watch pero yun lang. Hanggang watching rin lang ako. Hehehe

Bullfrog said...

The layout looks like it's taken from Wordpress. Hemingway something?

Mugen said...

F.Jordan I found it in Google. Hehe. Dunno if it was from Wordpress, but yeah, it's a Hemmingway.

Lyka Bergen said...

lalaking lalaki ka tol! Pwede Ms Universe na lang ang pag-uusapan natin? Chos!

Mugen said...

Lyka Bergen: One of these days, Miss U ang blog entry ko! Lol.

wanderingcommuter said...

no wonder the government keeps a strong tie with the US...

THE GRIPEN said...

(hindi lumusot yung una kong comment hehe)

Thanks bro...


Yes I truly agree with that, and to make the matter more clear, Air assets do play a vital role to our country,and Even though we are not at war in any country our airspace is increasing being violated by some of our neighbours both by governments or private airlines.

With no interceptor capability our Air Force would me merely make radio warnings to those aircraft, and could not show even just a little show of force thus violations are becoming more frequent.

Heck even a small land locked country like Austria scrambled their Jets around 200+ last year on interception duties alone. Imagine a country like ours whose airspace is a crossroad between Rich North Asian countries and Developing countries in SEA. certainly violations are higher....

Yes interceptors maybe a luxury in most Air forces with their exorbitant prices and soaring fuel and maintenance cost, but our politicians should bear in mind that there is a difference in a having a dog and a fence in your backyard rather than having an open lawn. It's price could be proven worthwhile