THE Philippine Army (PA) on Tuesday said that its armor and artillery units repelled a simulated enemy attack during a “littoral defense live fire exercise” in Burgos, Pangasinan, last March 9.
PA spokesman Col. Louie Dema-ala said the drill was part of the Army’s ongoing “Catex Katihan,” which started on Feb. 26 and is expected to end late this month.
“Catex” is short for combined arms training exercise.
“The 701st Combined Arms Brigade utilized its armor and artillery assets, which included remote control weapons systems (RCWS) mounted on armored infantry fighting vehicles and 105mm towed howitzers,” he said in a statement.
Aside from these military assets, Dema-ala said reservists also deployed combat drones at targets strategically placed near the coastline of Burgos.
A total of 4,222 PA soldiers are currently participating in the unilateral exercise, with drills being held at various training areas in Pangasinan and Ilocos Norte.
“The littoral defense drill is one of the key highlights of the ongoing third iteration of Catex ‘Katihan,’ which tests the Army’s Land Defense Concept in support of the external security operations,” the PA spokesman said.
Dema-ala also said PA chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete personally witnessed the live fire drill and commended the participating troops.
He added that the Army chief capped his visit by directing PA units to train hard to meet the challenges of the fast-changing global and regional security landscape.