TH-73 Thrashers for the Philippines
On 15 April 2025, the US State Department approved a possible sale of Leonardo TH-73 Thrasher training helicopters to the Philippines, for a total worth of USD 120 million. The principal contractor to manufacture these Thrashers will be AgustaWestland in Philadelphia (PA).
The news did not disclose the number of helicopters but when the US Navy in 2022 ordered 26 TH-73's the contract was worth USD 115 million. This could be an indication about the sort of numbers we should be thinking of. However, further details (such as price, numbers and delivery dates) will be the result of negotiations between Manilla, the Pentagon and Leonardo.
What we do know is that the Philippine armed forces are in dire need of a helicopter training platform. The Hukbong Pandagat ng Pilipinas (Philippine Navy and the Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas (Philippine Army) only have a handful of Robinson R22s, Robinson R44s and MBB BO105 helicopters to train their personnel.
The Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas (Philippine Air Force) has a sizable number of helicopters in their inventory but all of those have combat roles.
The proposed sale will thus enable a decent training platform for the armed forces to train their rotary wing staff.
Picture illustrative: Scramble Archives (Manolito Jaarsma)