The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has raised a requirement for the acquisition of new 5.56mm M4-type rifles as part of its acquisition for Fiscal Year 2025.
This is part of an effort to improve the overall firepower delivery capability of the force, as well as replace ageing or lost/damaged assets.
With this, the Philippine Coast Guard, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invited manufacturers and suppliers to submit a bid for the Caliber 5.56mm M4 Rifle with Optical Sights Acquisition Project.
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| A PCG specops operator training with an M4-type rifle with the PNP Maritime Group. Photo credits to DVIDS. |
Project Summary:
Caliber 5.56mm M4 Rifle with Optical Sights Acquisition Project:
Note: Edited as of 24 January 2026
* Project Number: IB No. 2025-027
* End User: Philippine Coast Guard (multiple units)
* Quantity: 1,666 units
* Modernization Phase: Philippine Coast Guard GAA Acquisition for 2025
* Project ABC: Php299,880,000.00
* Acquisition Mode: Public Bidding
* Source of Funding: Philippine Coast Guard GAA Funds for 2025
* SARO Release: N/A
* Winning Proponent: Armscor Global Defense Inc.
* Product for Delivery: potentially Armscor RD4P 5.56mm Rifle
* Contract Price: Php296,548,000.00
* Residual Difference (Savings): Php3,332,000.00
* First post by MaxDefense: 24 January 2026 (this post)
* MaxDefense Searching Hashtag: #PCG556mmM42025Acquisition
* Status: Public tender was opened on 01 July 2025, with SOBE scheduled on 28 July 2025. Notice of Award released in favour of Filipino arms company Armscor Global Defense Inc. on 17 December 2025. NTP and Contract signed on 13 January 2026. Armscor believed to deliver their new RD4P 5.56mm rifle.
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These rifles would be used for different purposes including weapons for special operations and ship boarding units, among others.
The requirement is for a rifle chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO round, using the M4 design, although not much information is available since the Technical Specifications were not provided and was only given to tender participants.
Surprisingly they have been specific on the M4-type design, considering the PCG also uses the Israeli-made IWI Galil ACE with Meprolight optical sights bought a few years ago in bulk together with other Israeli-made firearms.
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| PCG Special Operations personnel with their IWI Galil ACE 5.56mm rifles with Meprolight optical sights. Photo credits to original source. |
It is possible that the Israel is still not in a position to sell firearms in bulk to other countries due to its needs to support the Israeli Defense Force in its military operations and restocking.
The PCG has AR-type rifles in its inventory including M16A1 and CAR-15 rifles but these are starting to show their age and are now used in secondary or less risky roles.
Technical Requirements:
The PCG has not posted the Technical Specifications of the rifles and optical sights as part of the tender documents for security reasons.
This means we do not have any information on its required dimensions, assembly materials, operating system, cycle of fire, etc.
As part of the Supplemental Bid Bulletin, one of the interested tenderers requested for the project tile to be replaced by "Assault Rifle" instead of "M4 Rifle". This would open up the tender for other types of 5.56mm rifles instead of just the AR15/M4 platform, as long as it meets the project's technical requirements.
Since the project is being acquired through public tender, it would be difficult to guess which offer would be accepted as public tender tends to be priced-based especially that most of the tenderers have been participating in similar projects before.
Based on the Supplemental Bid Bulletin No. 1 released on 21 July 2025, there are at least 2 interested tenderers, namely, R. Espineli Trading and Armscor Global Defense Inc.
It was later found during the release of the BAC Resolution No. 2025-146 that other companies participated in the pre-bid conference which includes Nashe Enterprises, Aselsan Electronics and Caballo Negro Industriya Corp.
1. The RD4P rifle from Armscor Global Defense - this could be their first potential supply of the new rifle, only released in 2024, to an armed service branch of the Philippine Government. The rifles are built locally in Armscor's manufacturing facility in Marikina which fits the general overall preference to support the local arms industry.
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| The RD4P rifle from Armscor Global Defense. Photo credits to Insider.ph. |
2. The SIGM400 or the SIG516G2 from SIG Sauer, both of which has already been sold to the Philippine Army in previous AR15-type rifle requirements. The SIG516G2 is the latest variant of the SIG516 short-stroke piston rifle, which is similar to the SIG716G2 7.62mm rifles also already in use with the Philippine Army.
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| The SIG516G2 (top) and the SIGM400 (above). Photo credits to SIG Sauer. |
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| The Taurus T4. Photo credits to Ricardo Torres. |
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29 December 2025:
It is expected that a Contract and Notice to Proceed might be made available in a few months.
Based on the BAC Resolution No. 2025-146 dated 30 July 2025, it was found that R. Espineli Trading was disqualified from the tender after failing the Eligibility Documents and Technical Components, while Armscor Global Defense met the requirements as well as the Financial Component of the tender with a submitted price of Php296,548,000.00.
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| Photo credits to PhilGEPS. |
23 January 2026:
The Philippine Coast Guard has signed the Contract and released the Notice to Proceed for the project last 23 December 2025 in favour of Armscor Global Defense.
Armscor is given 120 days to fulfill the contract, which is due around late April 2026.
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| Photo credits to PhilGEPS. |
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Copyright MaxDefense Philippines / Philippine Defense Resource
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