Philippine Army confirms 2.4 Billion acquisition of 63,000 brand new automatic rifles

The Philippine Army (PA) confirmed Tuesday the acquisition of 63,000 brand-new automatic rifles which will be delivered and issued in several batches this year.

Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato, Army spokesperson, said that these new rifles are the M-4 which is worth P38,402 each.The entire order is estimated to be worth 2.4 billion pesos.

The M-4 is a shorter and lighter variant of the M-16A2 assault rifle. It is a gas-operated, magazine-fed, shoulder-fired weapon with a telescoping stock and 14.5 inch (370 mm) barrel for easy close quarter combat.

The rifle fires the .223 caliber, or 5.56-mm NATO round.
During the March 16 graduation of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 2014, President Benigno S. Aquino III said that the military will soon be retiring its Vietnam-era automatic rifles with the delivery of 63,000 brand-new rifles.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=626400