Field Ambulance (Phase 1) Joint Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps

As part of the Capability Upgrade Program of the AFP Modernization Program under RA 7898, the Philippine Army (PA) and Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) requested for the acquisition of combat Field Ambulance vehicles to improve its medical evacuation capability to move injured personnel away from combat front lines, and provide medical assistance to military personnel in during peace or wartime operations, and to assist in humanitarian requirements.

The Field Ambulance Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps was raised to meet both service's requirements for such capabilities. Since the PA and PMC have several acquisition projects of field combat ambulances, MaxDefense has identified this as "Phase 1" to differentiate with succeeding acquisition projects of similar equipment, following the format the AFP and DND use in their project naming.

The first project to meet such requirement, the Field Ambulance (Phase 1) Joint Acquisition Project was funded through the AFP Modernization Program, with a target to acquire 60 field combat ambulances. While it was in most part a Philippine Army project, the Philippine Marine Corps takes the opportunity of bulk buy to have a few units for their own requirement.

The Field Ambulance (Phase 1) Joint Project included 48 units for the Philippine Army, and 12 units for the Philippine Marine Corps.

This resource page focuses on the Field Ambulance (Phase 1) project, and to distinctly separate it from a follow-on and related project called the Field Ambulance (Phase 2) Joint Acquisition Project which has its own resource page separate from this one.

One of the KIA KM451 field combat ambulance, this example with the 8th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. Photo taken from and credited to DRP Forum page.

Project Summary:

Field Ambulance (Phase 1) Joint Acquisition Project:

Note: Edited as of 29 April 2020.

* End User: Philippine Army and Philippine Navy (Marines) (multiple units)

* Quantity: 60 units

* Modernization Phase: Capability Upgrade Program of the AFP Modernization Program (RA 7898)

* Project ABC: Php300,800,000.00

* Acquisition Mode: Government-to-Government (G2G) deal with South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA)

* Source of Funding: GAA Funds through AFP Modernization Program Trust Fund

* SARO Release/s: TBA

* Winning Proponent: Hyundai Motors Corp.

* Product for Delivery: KIA Motors KM451 4x4 military field ambulance

* Contract Price: Php300,780,000.00

* First post by MaxDefense:

* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PAPMCFieldAmbulanceP1Acquisition

* Status: Completed delivery as of January 2013. Philippine Army received 48 units, Philippine Marine Corps received 12 units. PROJECT COMPLETED.

Overview:

Under the Field Ambulance Acquisition Project, the Philippine Army requested for the acquisition of field ambulances which would allow them to transport wounded personnel quickly to field medical facilities during combat operations, or to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) support during emergencies.

Back then, the Philippine Army has an almost non-existent combat ambulance capability, and only had a handful of combat ambulances comprising of a few M35 2 1/2-ton 6x6 trucks. Previously the Philippine Army had British-made Alvis FV104 Samaritan armored ambulances, which were retired in the early 1990s.

The Philippine Army used to operate some Alvis FV104 Samaritan armored ambulances, acquired in the 1970s together with several other vehicles using the same platform like the Scorpion CRVT. Photos credited to DRP Forum page (top), and gita_md_91's Flickr page.

An initial project called the Field Ambulance (Phase 1) Joint Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps, which was contracted in 2012 called for the acquisition of 60 units of field combat ambulances, which were acquired through Government-to-Government (G2G) deal with the South Korean government through the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

DAPA endorsed Hyundai Motors to provide the vehicles using the KIA KM451 1 1/4-ton 4x4 field combat ambulance as their preferred proponent to represent the deal. Despite being produced by KIA Motors, it should be noted that the car company is a part of the Hyundai Group, making KIA Motors a subsidiary of Hyundai Motors Co.

Of the 60 units of KIA KM451 field combat ambulances delivered under the project, 48 units were delivered to the Philippine Army, and 12 units to the Philippine Marine Corps between late 2012 to January 2013.

These vehicles constitute the Philippine Army's first KM451 vehicles, as the service received more units in 2016 under a different contract.

(Top): Rear side of a KIA KM451 field combat ambulance, this example assigned with the Philippine Army.
(Above): Overview page of the KIA KM451 as posted on KIA's website.
Both photos taken from and credited to DRP Forum page.

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With the combat field ambulance vehicles already delivered and formally activated with different units of the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps, MaxDefense officially consider the Field Ambulance (Phase 1) Joint Acquisition Project of the Philippine Army and Philippine Marine Corps as COMPLETED.

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First posted and released on 29 April 2020