SINAKSIHAN ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Marcos ang live-fire sea drills ng Pilipinas at Armed Forces ng Estados Unidos sa Zambales bilang bahagi ng kanilang Balikatan Exercise.

Habang isinasagawa ang drills na may 2.8 kilometers mula sa Naval Education Training Doctrine Command (NETDC) sa San Antonio, Zambales, nagpartisipa ang U.S. at Philippine combat units sa combined joint littoral live-fire exercise, nagtapos sa field training event para sa Balikatan 2023.

Tinatayang may 1,400 Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen at Coast Guardsmen mula sa dalawang bansa ang sumali sa Combined Joint Littoral Live Fire Exercise (CJLLFX), kung saan may kaugnayan sa “detecting, identifying, targeting and engaging a target ship” gamit ang iba’t ibang ground at air-based weapons systems.

“The exercise featured U.S. and Philippine weapons platforms delivering coordinated fires on a target ship, a decommissioned Philippine Navy corvette towed into Philippine territorial waters,” ayon sa kalatas ng Malakanyang.

Ang bilateral weapons systems na ginamit sa war games ay binubuo ng U.S. at Philippine artillery, High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) at Avenger air defense systems.

“State-of-the-art combat aircrafts were also mobilized including AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, Philippine Air Force FA-50 Golden Eagle fighter-attack aircraft, F-16 Fighting Falcons, U.S. Marine F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, and the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command AC- 130 Spectre gunship,” ayon pa rin sa Malakanyang.

“One of the most anticipated weapons from the U.S. arsenal was the HIMARS, a full-spectrum, combat-proven, all-weather, 24/7, lethal and responsive, wheeled precision strike weapons system,” dagdag na pahayag nito.

Ang HIMARS ay isang “C-130 air transportable wheeled launcher mounted on a 5-ton Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles XM1140A1 truck chassis organic/assigned to Field Artillery Brigades.”

Kabilang naman sa mga opisyal ng Pilipinas na dumalo sa nasabing drills sina AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, Zambales 2nd District Rep. Doris Maniquiz at Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.

Sa panig ng Estados Unidos, ang mga dumalo ay sina Ambassador of the US to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford, at US Exercise Director Lt. Gen. William Jurney.