The corporation was established on September 5, 1973 by the virtue of Presidential Decree No. 286, which was issued by then-President Ferdinand Marcos. The decree served as the charter of the corporation was revised through Presidential Decree No. 696 issued by Marcos on May 9, 1975. The mandate of the firm is to establish a "reliable aviation and aerospace industry" in the Philippines, design, manufacture and sell "all forms" of aircraft, as well as to develop indigenous capabilities in the maintenance, repair, and modification of aviation equipment. It attempted to develop local aircraft such as the PADC Hummingbird helicopter and the PADC Defiant single-engine trainer in the 1980s but the programs were scrapped due to licensing issues and lack of government support. Following a meeting of the Governance Commission for GOCCs in late 2017, PADC is set to be abolished. Those present in the meeting views that PADC has failed its mandate particularly in successfully designing a plane for the last 45 years. A PADC director, Rene Abad, has called for the PADC's ‘revitalization’ instead, to contribute to the country's development and security. In March 2018, the Department of Transportation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of National Defense for the transfer of the PADC from the former to the latter. On March 15, 2019, through Executive Order No. 78 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, the corporation was effectively transferred from the transportation department to the Department of National Defense.
Prototypes
PADC Defiant 300 - is the first PADC developed Philippine light aircraft. A single prototype was made and the aircraft had its first test flight in 1987. Its fuselage is made of wood and fibreglass and had a Lycoming engine with a capacity of 300 horsepower. The project was abandoned due to lack of government funds.
PADC Hummingbird - a prototype helicopter developed from the 1980s to the 1990s which is considered as a copy of MBB Bo 105 of Eurocopter. The project was terminated due to the design being too lengthy and expensive, and design licensing issues.
Clients
PADC lists the following firms and agencies as its clients: ; Government
