The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), through the Philippine Navy (PN) has started to procure additional 5.56x45mm assault rifles based on the M4 / AR-15 platform as part of its 2022 annual budget.
This is to replace some of the damaged / lost Remington R4 5.56mm assault rifles over the years, while also increasing its inventory as the Philippine Marine Corps increased its number of marines in the past few years.
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| Philippine Marines with Remington R4A3 5.56mm assault rifle. Photo credits to Benar News. |
Overview:
The Philippine Marine Corps has raised a requirement for the acquisition of 939 units of new 5.56mm Assault Rifles with Optics, as it continues to improve its firearms inventory to replace damaged or lost Remington R4A3 rifles over the years since its introduction several years ago.
It is not surprising that rifles have been lost in combat, considering the Philippine Marine Corps have been active in fighting terrorist and separatist groups, and has sustained fatal losses including their firearms.
The Philippine Marine Corps also appears to have slightly expanded the size of its marine personnel, as the force creates new units to meet future challenges.
Like the Philippine Army, the Philippine Marine Corps and the Philippine Navy itself has started procuring firearms, force protection equipment and other basic equipment using its annual GAA funds rather than riding on the AFP Modernization Program.
It appears that the procurement of firearms like this project will be happening almost every year, depending on their requirement.
Based on post-tender information, three tenderers submitted a bid: Nashe Enterprises partnered with still unidentified firearms manufacturer, United Defense Manufacturing Corporation (UDMC) with Dasan Machineries of South Korea, and Intrade Asia Pacific with SIG Sauer USA.
Nashe Enterprises is believed to be partnered with Daniel Defense USA, which has the DDM4 family meeting the requirements.
UDMC-Dasan Machineries is believed to have offered their DSAR15 which has a DGIS variant. So far, the only concern with this offer is that the DSAR15 appears to be lacking in number of users especially outside South Korea.
UDMC is also one of the local retailers of Trijicon, which is expected to be used by UDMC in their offer for the Optics. The MRO family of red dot sights could fit the requirements and budget.
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| The Dasan DSAR15 rifle (top) and Trijicon MRO sealed red dot sight (above) could be the offer submitted by UDMC. Photo credits to Dasan Machineries and Trijicon websites. |
SIG Sauer's SIGM400 Pro 14.5" rifle is believed to be the one offered to the Philippine Marine Corps, which is the same product delivered to the Philippine Army a few years ago when SIG Sauer also won a tender for Direct Impingement variant of AR-15/M4 type rifles.
Since SIG Sauer has its own line of optics, it is possible that they also offered their own product to go with the rifle.
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The SIG Sauer SIGM400 Pro in 14.5" barrel without suppressor, which is believed to be the product offered to the PMC. Photo credits to SIG Sauer USA's website.
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Project Summary:
Assault Rifle 5.56mm with Optics Acquisition Project (2022)
Note: Edited as of 04 February 2023.
* Project Number: AMMO-PNBAC2-2022-09
* End User: Philippine Marine Corps (unspecified units)
* Quantity: 939 units
* Modernization Phase: N/A, Philippine Navy (Marines) procurement outside RAFPMP for 2022
* Project ABC: Php93,900,000.00
* Acquisition Mode: Public Bidding
* Source of Funding: Philippine Navy GAA 2022
* SARO Release: N/A
* Winning Proponent: SIG Sauer USA
* Product for Delivery: SIG Sauer SIGM400 Pro 5.56x45mm rifle, 14.5" barrel
* Contract Price: Php93,900,000.00
* Residual Amount: Php0.00
* First post by MaxDefense: 03 June 2023 (this post)
* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PMC556mmAssaultRifle2022Acquisition
* Status: Requirement for 939 units to include optics. First bidding attempt opened on 18 April 2022, SOBE on 06 May 2022. Project bidding declared failure as of 19 September 2022 due to post-disqualification of winning bidder. New Invitation to Bid was raised on 22 July 2022, and SOBE was scheduled on 11 August 2022. Based on BAC resolution, 3 bidders submitted, with Nashe Enterprises rejected while United Defense Manufacturing Corporation + Dasan was lowest bidder but failed to meet Post-Tender Inspections. SIG Sauer and Intrade Asia Pacific passed PDI and was awarded the project with NOA released on 20 December 2022, and received on 27 December 2022. No contract signing as of 03 February 2024.
30 September 2022:
The Philippine Navy has posted an Invitation to Bid for the acquisition of new 5.56mm assault rifles with optics last 18 April 2022, with the SOBE scheduled on 06 May 2022.
But as of 19 September 2022, the project was declared a failure due to post-disqualification of the winning bidder.
No information was made available on the tenderers or who was the winning bidder.
* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PMC556mmAssaultRifle2022Acquisition
* Status: Requirement for 939 units to include optics. First bidding attempt opened on 18 April 2022, SOBE on 06 May 2022. Project bidding declared failure as of 19 September 2022 due to post-disqualification of winning bidder. New Invitation to Bid was raised on 22 July 2022, and SOBE was scheduled on 11 August 2022. Based on BAC resolution, 3 bidders submitted, with Nashe Enterprises rejected while United Defense Manufacturing Corporation + Dasan was lowest bidder but failed to meet Post-Tender Inspections. SIG Sauer and Intrade Asia Pacific passed PDI and was awarded the project with NOA released on 20 December 2022, and received on 27 December 2022. No contract signing as of 03 February 2024.
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U P D A T E S:
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30 September 2022:
The Philippine Navy has posted an Invitation to Bid for the acquisition of new 5.56mm assault rifles with optics last 18 April 2022, with the SOBE scheduled on 06 May 2022.
But as of 19 September 2022, the project was declared a failure due to post-disqualification of the winning bidder.
No information was made available on the tenderers or who was the winning bidder.
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28 November 2022:
Our parent page MaxDefense Philippines confirmed that the Philippine Navy has re-started the public bidding to acquire new 5.56mm Assault Rifles with optics, but no information was made regarding the status of the tender nor the competitors.
Defense industry sources has mentioned that SIG Sauer, Taurus Armas and Dasan may have participated together with their respective local representatives (Intrade Asia Pacific, Trust Trade, and UDMC), as these have been the same companies that have been competing for assault rifle projects in the Armed Forces of the Philippines since 2018.
Our parent page MaxDefense Philippines confirmed that the Philippine Navy has re-started the public bidding to acquire new 5.56mm Assault Rifles with optics, but no information was made regarding the status of the tender nor the competitors.
Defense industry sources has mentioned that SIG Sauer, Taurus Armas and Dasan may have participated together with their respective local representatives (Intrade Asia Pacific, Trust Trade, and UDMC), as these have been the same companies that have been competing for assault rifle projects in the Armed Forces of the Philippines since 2018.
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| The three potential competitors are the Dasan DSAR15 from South Korea, the Taurus T4 from Brazil, and the SIG Sauer M400 from US/Germany. Photo credits to original sources. |
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01 December 2022:
Our parent page MaxDefense Philippines received information from a defense industry source saying that that United Defense Manufacturing Corporation, which offered the DSAR15 rifle from South Korea's Dasan Machinery is currently the lowest bidder, with Intrade Asia Pacific - SIG Sauer and Nashe Enterprises as the other tenderers.
No information was made on what brand Nashe Enterprises is carrying for this tender but MaxDefense Philippines believes that it could be Daniel Defense, which has a DI variant for its DDM4 series of 5.56mm AR-15 rifles.
It still remains to be seen if UDMC will pass the Post-Qualification Inspections, which will determine if the project will be awarded to them.
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Our parent page MaxDefense Philippines received information from a defense industry source saying that that United Defense Manufacturing Corporation, which offered the DSAR15 rifle from South Korea's Dasan Machinery is currently the lowest bidder, with Intrade Asia Pacific - SIG Sauer and Nashe Enterprises as the other tenderers.
No information was made on what brand Nashe Enterprises is carrying for this tender but MaxDefense Philippines believes that it could be Daniel Defense, which has a DI variant for its DDM4 series of 5.56mm AR-15 rifles.
It still remains to be seen if UDMC will pass the Post-Qualification Inspections, which will determine if the project will be awarded to them.
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03 June 2023:
Based on the tender results released by PHILGeps, it appears that the Philippine Navy BAC has awarded the project to SIG Sauer USA and its local representative Intrade Asia Pacific.
The BAC resolution has confirmed that UDMC was indeed the lowest bidder, but has failed in the Post-Qualification Inspection, which allowed second lowest bidder SIG Sauer to have their chance, which they were able to complete and pass.
UDMC's failure were attributed to documentation requirements and not the product itself. No PQI has been made on Dasan Machinery itself after UDMC failed its own PQI.
A Notice of Award in favor of SIG Sauer was released on 20 December 2022, and was accepted by their local representative Intrade Asia Pacific on 27 December 2022.
SIG Sauer's SIGM400 Pro 14.5" rifle is believed to be the one offered to the Philippine Marine Corps, which is the same product delivered to the Philippine Army a few years ago when SIG Sauer also won a tender for Direct Impingement variant of AR-15/M4 type rifles.
Since SIG Sauer has its own line of optics, it is possible that they also offered their own product to go with the rifle.
So far there has been no indication that a contract signing or release of Notice to Proceed has happened between December 2022 and May 2023.
Based on the tender results released by PHILGeps, it appears that the Philippine Navy BAC has awarded the project to SIG Sauer USA and its local representative Intrade Asia Pacific.
The BAC resolution has confirmed that UDMC was indeed the lowest bidder, but has failed in the Post-Qualification Inspection, which allowed second lowest bidder SIG Sauer to have their chance, which they were able to complete and pass.
UDMC's failure were attributed to documentation requirements and not the product itself. No PQI has been made on Dasan Machinery itself after UDMC failed its own PQI.
A Notice of Award in favor of SIG Sauer was released on 20 December 2022, and was accepted by their local representative Intrade Asia Pacific on 27 December 2022.
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| The SIG Sauer SIGM400 Pro in 14.5" barrel without suppressor, which is believed to be the product offered to the PMC. |
SIG Sauer's SIGM400 Pro 14.5" rifle is believed to be the one offered to the Philippine Marine Corps, which is the same product delivered to the Philippine Army a few years ago when SIG Sauer also won a tender for Direct Impingement variant of AR-15/M4 type rifles.
Since SIG Sauer has its own line of optics, it is possible that they also offered their own product to go with the rifle.
 |
| NOA in favor of SIG Sauer released on 20 December 2022. Photo credits to PHILGeps. |
So far there has been no indication that a contract signing or release of Notice to Proceed has happened between December 2022 and May 2023.
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First edit and release: 03 June 2023
Copyright MaxDefense Philippines / Philippine Defense Resource.
