Manila, July 1 -- Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. wants the proposed multi-role fighter (MRF) program to proceed as a full package, with an airborne warning and control system (AWACS) and aerial tankers for mid-air refueling platforms.

Having these platforms will ensure that the MRF program is "operational as a force package," Teodoro said in a media briefing at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel on Monday afternoon.

This means that the country's MRFs, if deployed for missions, must be able to demonstrate their capabilities to the utmost, he said.

"It is not only the purchase of the MRF, per se, which we need to deal with but also to make the MRFs operational as a force package, meaning to say, we need the ...