#block70

South Korea’s Ambassador to the Philippines, Lee Sang-Hwa said that Discussions are being made for the possible acquisition by the Philippine Military of more Military Assets from his Country, and that the first Delivery of up to three FA-50 Block 70 Aircraft may be delivered before the end of the Term of Bong Bong Marcos (BBM) in 2028.

Here are the direct Quotes from him on those Topics: “The first Batch will be delivered, we hope, before the End of the Term of Marcos Administration….Out of 12, you know, the first Batch of the, one, two, three, it depends on the Schedule of Delivery. Yes. Other Things (meaning Military Assets) are in the Talk, but too early to disclose Details.”

Here is the Article from the “ABS-CBN” Website: https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/22/ph-eyeing-more-south-korea-made-military-equipment-envoy-says-1829

MY THOUGHTS: It seems that South Korea (SK) will be the biggest Beneficiary of the Department of National Defense’s (DND) new Policy of getting Military Assets only from Countries that publicly support at a High Level our Claims in the South China Sea (SCS).

This new Policy has seem to be already claimed Israel as a “Casualty” because they refused to do so. Unlike Israel though, SK was always willing to support the Philippines Claims in the SCS publicly, and their Top Government Officials.

I have nothing against SK, but as I said before, it does make me feel a bit uncomfortable in acquiring too much of our Military Assets from one Country alone, I think that’s just Common Sense, and I am sure they themselves understand that.

The DND’s Policy is making our Defense acquisitions a bit more complicated than it should be, because the Defense Exporting Countries have their own Pros and Cons also. Japan’s Military Export Policy is too complicated, and their Assets may be more expensive anyway.

The United States (US) and Europe are also a bit on the expensive Side, and India continues to have some Issues with their Military Assets that are for export. Turkey seems to have reasonably priced Goods, but I am not sure if they will support the DND’s new Policy.

The same with Indonesia, or any of the Countries in South East Asia (SEA). And of Course Russia and China are definitely out of any Consideration under this Administration of BBM.

After around a Week and a half of silence since the Manufacturer "Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)" announced that the Philippines bought another dozen of their FA-50 Aircraft, the Department of National Defense (DND) finally announced also the Sale.

The biggest surprise is that they officially used the Designation "Block 70" for the Aircraft. Initially I just rolled my Eyes and thought that they had somehow confused that Designation with the F-16C Fighting Falcon which, of course have that Designation for their latest Version.

However, after giving it some thought, I decided to do some search on Google, and true enough, I found one South Korean Website, the "Defense Today" which used the Block 70 Designation for the FA-50 as early as March of last Year of 2024.

Note that majority of the International Defense Publications have not used this Designation until recently, it had always been "Block 20". From what I can tell, it seems that there is a direct replacement of the "Block 20" Designation to "Block 70".

Quoting from the "Defense Today" Articles:

"KAI CEO Kang Koo-young proposed the FA-50 Block 70, the latest improved Model being introduced by Poland and Malaysia, to the Thai Air Force."

"The FA-50M Light Fighter being introduced by Malaysia is an improved Version of the FA-50 Block 70. Poland has already finalized 36 FA-50 Block 70 Aircraft, and Production Work is also Underway."

Note that the KAI Website itself does not show any Reference or Explanation about the different “Block” Versions on their Main Section of the FA-50, which is why there is some confusion about the Nature of these Designations. To clarify Things up, I think KAI needs to put explain these Block Designations on their Website itself.

Since there is no official Explanation on why this change was made, I suspect that its main Reason is to help in the Marketing of the F-16C, to identify closer with the FA-50. Remember that the Manufacturer of the F-16C, Lockheed Martin, is instrumental in the Design and Development of the FA-50 Aircraft.

SOURCES:

Department of National Defense - Philippines Facebook Page Post, 06/14/25 – 0915H {Archived Link}

FA-50M 말레이시아 납품 공정 26.7% {Archived Link}

The United States (US) Company Lockheed Martin (LM) just put up a special Page on their official Website dedicated to push for the Sale of their F-16C Fighting Falcon Block 70 Aircraft to the Philippines. The Page is titled "F-16: Advancing the Future of the Philippines' Air Defense" and is promoting various Aspects of their Aircraft which they think is relevant and important to the Philippines.

The Page includes Testimonies from their Test Pilots and cites the Commonality of the F-16 to the current Aircraft the Philippines is operating, the FA-50PH Fighting Falcon. It is also promoting the Ground Collision Avoidance System (GCAS) and the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar that the Block 70 is using.

It also mentions the four Decades worth of Weapons Integration with the F-16 Platform, meaning it has a lot of Weapons that were proven to be integrated with it, and the 12,000 hour Structural Lifespan of the Block 70.

You can access the special page here on the LM Website: https://lockheedmartin.com/en-ph/index.html

MY NOTES: I think LM is just trying to flatter the Philippines into buying the Aircraft. I remember they did this also with India when they offered a special Version of their F-16 to them several Years ago. Unfortunately for them though, India didn't bite.

The effort is nice, but for me, still too expensive and not worth it against China's Stealth Aircraft, Flankers and upcoming sixth Generation Aircraft.