PH, US troops to hold rocket system live fire drills on April 1

Filipino and American troops participating in this year’s “Salaknib” exercises are set to join a rocket system live fire exercise at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija on April 1. (Photo: Philippine Army/Facebook)

MANILA – Filipino and American troops participating in this year’s “Salaknib” exercises are set to join a rocket system live fire exercise at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija on April 1.

“(Army Artillery Regiment) AAR’s (Multi-Launch Rocket System) MLRS Battery personnel and their US counterparts are set to conduct a rocket system live-fire exercise on April 1, 2023, at the regiment’s long-range precision firing exercise area in Fort Magsaysay,” Philippine Army (PA) spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad in a statement Sunday night.

Last March 16, the personnel from the AAR’s MLRS Battery together with the US Multi-Domain Task Force commenced the rocket system subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) at AAR headquarters in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

Trinidad said the rocket system SMEE is geared at training participants on the procedures governing the employment and deployment of rocket weapon systems and their integration with other fire support assets.

Trinidad said the PA is focused on enhancing the individual skills of soldiers and unit competencies through constant training exercises such as ongoing PA-US Army Pacific (USARPAC) “Salaknib” drills scheduled from March 13 to April 4.

“Salaknib” is an Army-to-Army training program between the PA and USARPAC.

The ongoing exercises involve around 3,000 soldiers from USARPAC’s 25th Infantry Division and PA’s 5th Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division and 1st Brigade Combat Team training side by side in a spectrum of military operations.

The exercise’s second phase is slated for the second quarter of the year.