FACT CHECK: No PH acquisition of retired attack helicopters from the US

Claim: The Philippines has received 12 retired AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters from the United States.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was in a YouTube video uploaded by a channel that Rappler has fact-checked multiple times. The video itself has 4,096 views and 119 likes as of writing.

The bottom line: The Philippines has not acquired AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters from Washington. The Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force (PAF), and Department of National Defense (DND) have not issued any statement regarding the supposed acquisition. There are also no news reports confirming the claim.

The video also names a certain “Major General Guerrero” as the PAF’s commanding general who supposedly made a statement about the helicopter acquisition being a significant milestone for the PAF. This is false; the current commanding general is Lieutenant General Stephen Parreño, who took office in December 2022. His predecessor was Lieutenant General Connor Anthony D. Canlas Sr., who was in office from December 7, 2021 to December 20, 2022.

Helicopter acquisitions: The AH-1W Super Cobra was previously the US Marine Corps’ attack helicopter. It provided close air support for Marines under fire, escorted transport helicopters with troops, and was used for ground attack coordination.

The AH-1W was retired in 2020 after 34 years of service and replaced by the AH-1Z Viper, a twin-engine attack helicopter with fully integrated air-to-air missile capability and high-tech sensors that allow pilots to identify, track, and assign targets.

In 2020, the US approved the potential sale of the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters produced by Bell and the Boeing-made AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. However, there have been no recent reports regarding the PAF’s purchase of either of the two types of helicopters.

The PAF’s recent helicopter acquisition was the Turkish-made T129 “Atak” attack helicopters delivered to the country in 2022. The Philippines has six helicopters on order under the P13.7 billion contract.

Debunked claims: Rappler has fact-checked multiple claims regarding military acquisitions, purchases, and projects:

For credible updates on purchases and acquisitions made by the PAF or military, visit the official Facebook pages of the PAF and DND, or visit their official websites here and here. – Katarina Ruflo/Rappler.com

Katarina Ruflo is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

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