The Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) surveillance capabilities will be further enhanced with the turnover of another brand-new Cessna 208B “Grand Caravan” by the US today, Tuesday.
Once the aircraft is in PAF’s possession after the acceptance, turnover and blessing ceremonies in Clark Air Base, Mabalacat, Pampanga, it will be the third C-208B in its inventory.
The PAF, in an advisory, said Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. will be the guest of honor in these proceedings.
It also added that the aircraft is a grant from the US and is described as an “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance” (ISR) plane.
The 208B has a cruising speed of around 170 knots with a range of over 1,000 nautical miles and is capable of transporting eight to nine persons, including the pilot.
The first two C-208Bs were turned over to PAF on July 27, 2017 and are part of a $33 million package through the US National Defense Authorization Act Building Partnership Capacity Program.
This program seeks to provide equipment and training to improve Philippine counterterrorism response capability.
The C-208Bs provide advanced ISR capability.