US Air Force and US Army experts have been invited to the Philippines for an exchange on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief this month, even though that country’s leadership is still wary about future military cooperation. Subject matter experts will work at Clark Air Base from Jan. 16 to 25, focusing on the Air Force’s deployable ground-based satellite imagery system, known as Eagle Vision, according to a Pacific Air Forces release. The system provides real-time imagery from commercial satellites that is used in humanitarian assistance missions. The exercise will “continue to strengthen the military relationship between the two longtime allies,” the release states. The alliance has seen better days, with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana questioning the need for exercises and putting the future deployments of US service members to the country in jeopardy.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
