Will Philippines favour Eurofighter Typhoon for its military upgrade?

An Italian defence company’s push to sell Eurofighter Typhoon jets to the Philippines could open the door to broader cooperation between Rome and Manila, with analysts calling the aircraft a promising choice for the country’s military modernisation.\nLeonardo, a government-linked company, said it was committed to investing in the Philippines’ defence capabilities for the long term and offered to provide training, technology transfer and related facilities as part of the deal.\nThe company is promoting the Eurofighter – a multi-role combat aircraft that it has co-developed through a consortium with European plane maker Airbus and British aerospace group BAE Systems – to countries in the Indo-Pacific.\nAmong them, Bangladesh on Tuesday signed a letter of intent with Leonardo, in a first step towards buying the Eurofighter. The country is targeting to acquire up to 16 such aircraft, according to media reports.\nLeonardo is partly owned by the Italian government, which has a 30.2 per cent stake in the company.\nThe cost of each Eurofighter is reportedly estimated at US$117 million, making it one of the world’s most expensive fighter aircraft.\nThe Philippine military is planning to acquire advanced multi-role fighter aircraft as part of a US$35 billion modernisation programme.\n\n“Leonardo, as part of the Eurofighter consortium, stands ready to support the Philippines as it moves towards a more capable, self-reliant and unmatched deterrence posture,” said Tommaso Pani, senior vice-president of marketing and sales in Leonardo’s aeronautics division, in a statement on Tuesday.\nThe company’s proposal comes as Italy and the Philippines continue to hold talks to finalise a defence cooperation agreement, which Davide Giglio, the Italian ambassador in Manila, said in September was developing “very positively”.\nOfficials from Leonardo and representatives from Italy’s state-owned export credit agency SACE met with Giglio and Philippine defence officials this week to discuss the Eurofighter offer.\nLeonardo is proposing technology transfer, training for Filipino engineers and pilots, and the Philippine defence industry’s integration into the Eurofighter ecosystem. It has also raised the possibility of establishing a Eurofighter logistics and training hub in the Philippines for maintenance, repair and overhaul as well as simulation activities.\nThis Week in Asia has reached out to the Philippine military for its response to Leonardo’s proposal.\nWith its agility, speed and high-altitude performance, the Eurofighter was a promising option for the Philippine military, Chester Cabalza, president and CEO of the International Development and Security Cooperation, told This Week in Asia.\nThe offer from Leonardo would also include the combat-proven Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missiles, Storm Shadow cruise missiles and Marte-ER anti-ship missiles, which would boost the Philippine air force’s deterrence capabilities, Cabalza added.\nThe deal is worth considering as the Philippine industry’s involvement in the Eurofighter ecosystem and training for local engineers and pilots would help develop the country’s indigenous defence expertise and create highly skilled jobs in systems integration and avionics, according to Cabalza.\n\n“The high-end capabilities of the Typhoon allow the Philippines to establish a credible deterrence against potential threats by patrolling its borders effectively,” he said.\nBeyond their defence cooperation agreement, which reflects a “pragmatic investment in deterrence and resilience against regional threats”, Italy also wants to forge closer ties with the Philippines in trade and other areas, according to Calbaza.\nNoting the long-standing relationship between the Philippines and Italy, where over 165,000 Filipinos had formed a community, Calbaza said Rome considered the Southeast Asian country a gateway to the Indo-Pacific region.\n“Italy views the Indo-Pacific region as being as strategically important as the Mediterranean Sea for global trade and stability,” he added.\nMatteo Piasentini, a geopolitical analyst for the Italian think tank Geopolitica.info and an international relations lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman, told This Week in Asia that Rome’s engagement with Manila reflected its “enlarged Mediterranean” concept.\nLike other European countries in the Mediterranean region, Italy has a huge stake in global trade and desires seamless connections between the sea lanes of Europe and Asia, according to Piasentini. As such, it could not ignore destabilising developments in the South China Sea that might disrupt trade flows, he added.\n“As is the case for many other middle-ranking powers, Italy’s strategic interests are closely intertwined with the interests of its defence industry. A successful big-ticket sale [of the Eurofighter] would further align the priorities of Rome and Manila, ultimately benefiting both countries.”\n