Philippine Army (PA) commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said he wants more modern helicopters like the S-70i “Black Hawk” combat utility helicopter, now flown by the Air Force, to beef up the service’s Aviation Regiment.

Speaking to reporters, Brawner said the PA is prioritizing the acquisition of “Black Hawk” combat utility helicopters and multi-role fixed-wing aircraft as these can be used for airborne training and disaster relief missions.

“Pwede nating gamitin to transport mga relief goods sa mga areas na nangangailangan into (We can use these aircraft to transport relief goods in areas that badly need it),” he said on the sidelines of the ceremonial turnover of the Bolkow-Blohm Bo-105 helicopter to the PA by Dornier Technologies Inc. at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija on Wednesday.

However, Brawner admitted that the PA funding to acquire more aircraft for next year was not approved by Congress.

“Unfortunately, it was not approved by Congress so what we are going to do is to include the purchase of the aircraft for the PA under our modernization program,” he added.

To date, the Army Aviation Regiment is known to operate around six helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft