SENATOR Risa Hontiveros, Deputy Minority Leader, has called for assurances that the Department of National Defense’s (DND) modernization program will keep pace with global advancements, particularly in the field of drone warfare.
During Thursday’s budget deliberations, November 14, 2024, on the proposed 2025 budget for the DND and its attached agencies, Hontiveros emphasized the growing importance of drone technology in modern conflicts.
“We currently live in a very volatile period of history with various conflicts around the globe boiling hot and some simmering just under the surface. While we wish it was otherwise, we can at least try to learn as much as we can from them, and the current conflicts seem to underline the importance of drones, including naval drones and anti-drone warfare, guided emissions and air defense systems,” she stated.
In response, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, sponsor of the DND budget, assured Hontiveros that the “Rehorizon 3” modernization program is based on the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), which takes into account current and future threats, including the deployment of drones.
“That’s good to be updated on that and the fact that in many moving parts in the national defense, in particular in the modernization, including the Rehorizon 3, proves that we have a dynamic, not static, program. The process of modernization is based on new concepts such as the CADC. It’s good that it’s anchored in the concept of defense as an archipelago, and I appreciate that you factor in the current and future threats,” Hontiveros acknowledged.
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