The Philippine Army (PA) has successfully executed the Javelin anti-tank weapon system live-fire exercise with the US Army and US Marines forces as part of the introductory activities of the Balikatan 38-23 at Range 2, Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija last April 13.
“The US Army, US Marines, and PA troops fired five missiles which are facilitated by the anti-tank trainers during the simulation of the combat scenario, a part of the 38th iteration of ‘Balikatan’,” Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement Saturday.
“The PA soldiers applied the skills they learned through lectures and simulation exercises, especially during the Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE) of the recently-concluded ‘Salaknib’ 2023 Phase 1. The Army troops showed their tactical skills, accuracy, and confidence in using the Javelin weapon which could be one of the integral armaments of the PA’s future arsenal,” he added.
Meanwhile, PA chief Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., who witnessed the exercise with United States Army Pacific commander Gen. Charles A. Flynn, applauded the smooth execution of the exercise.
“By sustaining the build-up and expansion of our areas of collaboration, we can achieve our shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region,” he added.
Brawner also stressed that the exercise allowed the PA troops to deal with the real-time experience and to observe how the weapon works and reacts in the environment, particularly in an actual warfare setting.
”What you see here with ‘Balikatan’ and ‘Salaknib’ is an expression of us trying to commit to enabling and assisting the Philippine military (in) being able to protect their national sovereignty and protect the territorial integrity of the Philippines,” Flynn noted.
CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE
