Not many people are aware of it but the Philippine Army (PA), which fields 10 infantry divisions, has an estimated 273 artillery pieces in its inventory.
This number does not include artillery pieces owned by the Philippine Marine Corps, Army spokesperson Capt. Anthony Bacus said.
Around 24 of these weapons are the heavy 155mm howitzers with the remaining guns consisting of various models of the 105mm howitzer, an artillery piece capable of being towed or tracked into combat.
These weapons are constantly being maintained and modernized to provide Army units with a relatively heavy punch.
Bacus said that six of these guns are grouped to make one battery.
He added that these guns serves as fire support and bombardment weapons of the PA.
The Army spokesperson also stressed that batteries of these guns are assigned to all of the PA’s infantry divisions.
However, he declined to comment on how many batteries each division possessed for reasons of security.
Earlier, the Department of National Defense announced that it is acquiring 12 units of towed 155mm howitzers for P438,620,000.
This includes 240 rounds of 155mm HE (high explosive) and integrated logistic support.
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