Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos stated in 2022 the island chain had actually obtained a Spyder air defence system as part of a push to modernise the armed force. An image flowing on Facebook, nevertheless, reveals various devices. Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems stated the picture revealed a brand-new rocket checked in Israel in December 2023, while a Philippine Flying force spokesperson informed AFP the devices in the picture shared online was “not ours“.
“AIR DEFENSE ROCKET OF THE PHILIPPINES,” checked out a Facebook post that shared the picture on Might 17.
“The introducing of rockets of the Spyder Air Defense Rocket System of the Philippine Flying Force.”
Spyder is a ground-based air defence system established by Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos invited the Spyder defence system obtained by the Philippine Flying Force in November 2022 (archived link).
Manila acquired the devices in 2019 as part of efforts to modernise its military (archived here and here).
Comparable Facebook posts declared the picture revealed the Spyder defence system in the Philippines here and here.
The posts distributed after countless Philippine and United States soldiers participated in yearly military drills — called Balikatan or “carry to shoulder” in Tagalog — in numerous places throughout the Asian island chain in April and Might (archived link).
The drills came as stress rose in between Chinese and Filipino vessels in the contested South China Sea.
Among the occasions in the dry run saw the “very first collecting” of a US Patriot rocket and the Philippines’ Spyder system (archived link).
Israel rocket test
Nevertheless, Philippine Flying force spokesperson Colonel Consuelo Castillo informed AFP the devices in the picture was “not ours”.
A reverse image search on Google discovered the picture in truth reveals a various rocket being checked in Israel.
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems released a video of the defence system seen in the image in a post about screening of the brand-new “All in One” Spyder defence system performed in Israel in December 2023 (archived here and here).
Israel’s defence ministry likewise shared the picture on January 14, 2024 in a post on social networks website X about the “effectively finished” test (archived link)
Below is a contrast of the picture shared in the incorrect posts (left) and the Israeli defence ministry’s X post (right):
The weapons business published video footage of the live fire test on YouTube (archived here).
Philippine fact-checking organisation FactRakers likewise exposed this claim.