MDCP Award Results in $17 Million Export Sales to Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy Chooses New York-Built Radar

The Gregorio del Pilar is the first Philippine Navy surface combatant ship to feature a radar system designed and manufactured in Syracuse, New York. According to a May 21, 2018, announcement, the radar system will be fitted on more than one ship. The sale, worth almost $17 million, was more than two and a half years in the making. The contract stems from a November 2014, meeting in the U.S. Embassy in Manila with potential distributors for radar systems. The meeting was brokered by MDCP cooperator CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity (CenterState CEO) and ITA. 

Office in Philippines to Support Current and Future Sales and Service

Sensis Corporation was established in East Syracuse, New York, in 1985. Sweden-based industrial firm Saab purchased Sensis in 2011. After adding 260 additional jobs, Saab Defence and Security has made Syracuse its North American headquarters. So, the radar sale to the Philippines is more than another MDCP export success. It confirmed increased foreign direct investment in the United States.

Saab decided to invest in an office in the Philippines. The office will manage sales and service for both military and civilian radar systems. This bodes well for many follow-on sales far into the future.

MDCP projects may last up to six years, but are designed to foster activity that continues to yield exports well after ITA’s MDCP support ends. The Sea Giraffe radar sale is an example of how MDCP-brokered activity can encourage a U.S. exporter to invest in ways that will continue to produce exports well after the term of an MDCP cooperative agreement.