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TweetWhereas 2014 was the year of the “Notice of Award”, 2015 was the year of deliveries. No less than 18 projects — for all three services — saw their first or full deliveries this year, making it the most active project-conclusion period since the first acquisitions of the AFP Modernization Program in 2003. Among the capabilities that […]

TweetNote: This article is also available on the Timawa.net forum on the long-standing “What’s happening with the AFP modernization program” thread. In comparison with the past two years, 2013 was significantly muted from a modernization perspective. Many of the acquisitions that had been announced in previous years have either been delayed, fell through, or have […]

TweetIn 2013, the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) program — an ongoing albeit lackadaisical effort to create an indigenous defense industry — saw the most tangible display of high-level support in recent decades, when the Department of National Defense committed significant resources to the modernization of the Government Arsenal (GA), and facilitated the organization of the […]

TweetVarious defense commentators on social media have championed Philippine manufacture of all manner of weapons. From 20mm cannons to sophisticated aircraft and missiles. All too often, however, these Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) advocates side-step the need to be selective about what we push to make by ourselves. All forms of manufacture, to include weapons manufacture, is subject […]

TweetThe Special Actions Weapon (SAW) 9 sub-machine gun was a joint research project between the Government Arsenal and Safariland Firearms Manufacturing Corp. Little is known about this weapon’s origins, but its alternative name — the “Efficient Reliable Assault Pistol (ERAP)” — suggests inception during the term of President Estrada. It first appeared on the Timawa.net […]

TweetThe Government Arsenal announced via its Facebook account, and through Timawa.net, its plans to expand its product with the following rounds for 2012. The following photographs show the new cartridges. The match-grade rounds for 7.62mm and 5.56mm are of particular interest. These are to be manufactured for the Philippine Army ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet shooting […]

TweetRelated discussion on Timawa.net: http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=29205.0 The Government Arsenal published the second edition of its new journal: The Government Arsenal Bullet-In. This edition features the following developments: The arsenal’s return to assault rifle manufacture In-house production of ballistics gel An update on the arsenal’s modernization plans Download the bulletin, click here:

TweetSustainable weapons manufacture is the result the buildup of a wide variety of in-country capabilities. The presence of engineers and the like are merely one of the requirements. All of the countries that manufacture their own weapons have one thing that we do not: “A well established manufacturing base”. The presence of either a civilian, […]

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