The Philippine Air Force (PAF) announced Thursday that more than 40 aircraft are currently on standby, ready to be deployed for relief missions to communities affected by the enhanced southwest monsoon and multiple tropical storms.
“We have more than 40 (air) assets on standby. We (already) have one (W-3A) ‘Sokol’ helicopter, it is already prepositioned at Clark Air Base in Pampanga. And we also have our S-70i ‘Black Hawks’ that are on standby alert now in Basa Air Base (in Floridablanca, Pampanga). They are now ready to respond to immediate evacuation,” Air Force deputy spokesperson Maj. Joseph Richard Calma told reporters.
Aside from helicopters, he said fixed-wing airlift assets, such as the C-130 and C-295 medium transport planes, are also ready to transport relief goods.
He explains that PAF also has aircraft that can be used for rapid damage assessment and even medical evacuation, if needed.
In situations when the affected communities cannot be accessed by these large planes, the PAF official said that they have smaller and lighter aircraft like the NC-212is and “Nomad” fixed-wing light aircraft to perform the mission.
As this developed, Calma also disclosed that a US KC-135 aircraft is heading for Clark Air Base carrying humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) equipment.
“The aircraft is currently in Japan, and it is awaiting departure. We do not yet have the exact date or time kung kailan siya mag-a-arrive dito sa Philippines. But what is important is that support from the US is coming in. Again, it is a KC-135 aircraft bringing in HADR equipment. It’s a little bit larger than our C-130,” he added.
