Bongbong I: the First Filipino-made Missile

Missiles are guided ranged weapons, it can be classified as a guided missile or a guided rocket capable of self-propelled flight either by a jet engine or a rocket motor. Missiles may have different variations and applications when the weapon is used. On this day, the First Filipino-made missile was successfully launched on an island near Corregidor.

History

Months before the declaration of Martial Law, there was a classified project of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to create different types of missiles from ground-to-air missiles, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Its sole purpose is to defend the Philippine Islands and serve as the last line of defense against various threats. It was called Project Santa Barbara.

The missile was developed by a group of Filipino & German scientists and engineers, in collaboration with the Philippine Navy, and it was called Bongbong I - named after Pres. Marcos' son, Bongbong Marcos. On March 12, 1972, Bongbong I was successfully launched at Caballo Island near Corregidor, Philippines, and retrieved from the South China Sea (now the Western Philippine Sea).

Following the success of the missile launch, their second plan was to do mass production of the weapon and export it for distribution. After FM declares Martial Law in December 1972, a series of tests were conducted on the same island and all were described as successful. These weapons were featured during the 1973 Independence Day Parade at Quirino Grandstand, Luneta, Manila (video below).

"The defense of the Philippines cannot be left to our allies. We must assume that there will be contingencies where even the United States may not be able to come to our assistance." - Pres. Ferdinand Marcos

This was his statement in September 1975 when he received reports about its relations with the rest of the continent. This is why he pushed through on the project. The most powerful military force may not help us if there's a possible invasion, and that was the reason why he created these weapons to defend our nation at that time.

The Aftermath

When Marcos was overthrown by the Yellow Army of February 26, 1986, then left in exile with his family at Guam, the 10th President of the Philippines died on September 28, 1989, due to kidney, heart, and lung ailments. Everything changed when the Yellow-tards took over the government as they start to rewrite their history.

Pres. Corazon Aquino shuts down the project because of the fear of using it along with nuclear weapons. If we had this kind of weaponry, I'm pretty sure that other nations will fear our military superiority back then until to this day. The blueprints of Project Santa Barbara were left rotten inside in the filing cabinets of our history.