Philippine Army Showcases Firepower In CATEX-Katihan

The Philippine Army (PA) showcased its capabilities in territorial defence in its inaugural Combined Arms Training Exercise (CATEX)-Katihan.

Taking place at Col Ernesto Rabina Air Base (CERAB) in Tarlac on March 15,2024, the 502nd Combined Arms Brigade employed the recently acquired Israeli-made 155mm Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System (ATMOS) self-propelled howitzer from Elbit Systems alongside 120mm Mounter Mortar Systems (MMS) and armoured personnel carriers (APC) throughout the live-fire exercise.

CATEX Katihan effectively measures the Army’s capability to move, manoeuvre and sustain large-scale forces during combat engagements. The design of the various unit training involving different warfighting functions will be integrated in order to exercise combined arms operations as the highest form of unit training involving manoeuvre, manoeuvre support, manoeuvre service support, and reserve units,” said PA spokesperson Col Louie Dema-ala.

The drills were the first-ever Army-wide combined arms training which shifts the Army’s internal security stance to handle external threats, with an emphasis on territorial defence. More than 6,000 troops from various Army formations across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao were part of the exercise with 4,706 ‘dismounted contingents’ and 1,463 ‘mounted contingents’. Dismounted personnel refers to troops without motorised transport while mounted contingents are soldiers serving in motorised, armour and tracked artillery formations. -shp/adj/dl (Pix:Philippine Army)