PHL, US firms ink deal for weapons assembly in Bataan

American firm Daycraft Systems Corporation has partnered with a local company for a weapons assembly plant in a freeport zone in the country’s north, which will supply customized equipment to the Philippine military and other uniformed officers.

The Philippine-based Asia Defense and Armament Corporation (ACAC) inked a joint venture agreement with the United States-based defense firm on May 21, ACAC told BusinessWorld in an email.

“The local production and delivery of these equipment is in line with the Self-Reliant Defense Posture program which seeks to allow local industry and labor to benefit from defense expenditure,” ACAC said.

Any excess in production of the local facility shall be exported for sale to members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Asian countries, it added.

ACAC has been involved in the manufacture and trade of defense and security-related products in the Philippines, including defense robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles, cybersecurity systems, and ammunition equipment.

Daycraft, on the other hand, is a manufacturer of defense products for safety and peacekeeping.

The partnership aims to have the facility fully operational not later than the fourth quarter of 2022. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza