The Philippine Army announced on July 14 that it has received two new tracked Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge (AVLB) systems.
On July 12, the new AVLB, delivered by ship and arriving at Batangas Port, will be accepted by the Technical Acceptance Committee of the Ministry of Defense Procurement Service, after which it will be assigned to the Army Combat Engineer Battalion.
The service added that the AVLB was acquired through a Philippine-Israeli government-to-government deal under the auspices of the revised Armed Forces Horizon II phase of the Philippine Modernization Program.
AVLB is a combat support platform that enables other combat and logistics vehicles to traverse man-made and natural obstacles such as anti-tank ditches, destroyed bridges, craters, canals, rivers and ravines by deploying its bridge payload to traverse obstacles , usually without additional support equipment.
Philippine Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad told the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA): “These assets will enhance the Army’s Engineer Combat Battalion’s ability to support maneuver forces by providing mobility during operations.”
The service did not provide details of the AVLB, although it has been widely reported that the vehicles are supplied by Israel Defense major Elbit Systems and are based on the Merkava IV main battle tank chassis. If the reports are accurate, the deal would mark the first known export of the Merkava IV platform type.
In addition to the new tracked AVLB, the Philippine Army awarded a contract with the British company WFEL in June 2021 for two dry support bridges (DSBs). Based on a Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicle (RMMV) 10×10 truck chassis, the DSB can be fully deployed in approximately 90 minutes and will be equipped with walkways. The Army plans to use the DSB for military and disaster relief operations after delivery is expected in 2023.
by Jr Ng
