The Philippine Navy (PN) officially received the final three of overall five Beechcraft TC-90 aircraft in a March 26 ceremony at Naval Air Group (NAG) headquarters in Cavite City.
The aircraft, donated to the Philippines by the Japan ministry of defense (JMOD), will boost the country’s maritime patrol capabilities.
Philippines National Defense Chief, Sec. Delfin N. Lorenzana, witnessed the event as guest of honor and speaker. The ceremony was also attended by Japan defense ministry delegates and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippine Koji Haneda.
The first two TC-90 aircraft arrived in Philippines in March 2017.
TC-90 is a designation used by the JMSDF for the Beechcraft’s Model 90 King Air which started deliveries to Japan in the 1970s.
One of the first two donated aircraft was already used to patrol the Scarborough Shoal, according to media reports. The Scarborough Shoal, referred to as Huangyan Dao by China, is a contested region of the South China Sea seized by China in 2012. Chinese control of the fishing area was declared illegal in a 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that said China’s territorial claims in the region had no legal grounding.