MANILA: The Armed Forces of the Philippines (A.F.P) on Thursday said it is looking into “hardening” its facilities to make these more resistant to hypersonic missile strikes and other forms of attack.
“A missile attack is a possibility, yun nga po, naireport na may 25 targets dito (it was earlier reported that there are 25 targets here). That is why we are also preparing for those, ang isa pong pwede nating gawin (one of those steps) is to harden our facilities. We protect our facilities from possible missile attacks,” A.F.P chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City shortly after the military’s first semester command conference with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Brawner was referring to earlier reports, quoting Senator Imee Marcos as saying that 25 areas in the country are potential targets of China’s hypersonic missiles, in response to the Philippines’ approval of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States and ongoing tensions in the Wes
t Philippine Sea.
Marcos, in a video, said these targets include “Batanes, Subic and Ilocos”.
Hypersonic missiles are weapons capable of flying toward their target with speeds of five to 25 times the speed of sound. These weapons are hard to track and intercept with ordinary air defense systems.
Brawner said there are a lot of different technologies now available to protect the country against such strikes.
He said missile and drone attacks are among modern warfare challenges that must be faced, as seen in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Israel.
Source: Philippines News Agency
