According to the Facebook page of Philippines Air Force, the first two FA-50s took off from Sancheon facility in South Korea and are expected to arrive at Clark Airbase tomorrow November 28.
They will once again have a supersonic capable aircraft in their inventory again. Nice addition for this county
Philippines revives supersonic capability with arrival of FA-50 jets+
CLARK AIR BASE 28/11 (KYODO) = The Philippine military is reviving its supersonic capability after a decade, accepting on Saturday the first two of 12 new FA-50 fighter jets from South Korea.
Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and military chief Hernando Iriberri led the reception ceremony at an air force base in Pampanga province north of Manila, with the former saying, "We're glad we're finally back to supersonic age."
The Philippines decommissioned its last fighter jets, the F-5, in October 2005 due to high maintenance cost and because it had focused then on internal security matters such as terrorism and insurgency.
Amid China's recent aggressive assertion of its claims in disputed territories in the South China Sea also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam and others, the Philippine government under President Benigno Aquino beefed up the military's budget, allowing the acquisition of more modern assets for the air force and navy.
"I think we bought the best lead-in fighter trainer. It is the best that the air force has acquired at the moment," Philippine Air Force fighter pilot Rolando Conrad Pena told reporters after the landing of the two FA-50s. Pena is among the first three Filipino air force officers trained for the said fighter jet.
"It is a light attack aircraft. It can do light multirole missions. This is going to be a transition platform for us from flying the subsonic S-211 to the more advanced multirole fighters that we'll be acquiring in the future," he said, adding that the FA-50 will be used to patrol the country's territorial waters.
The FA-50 squadron, which is expected to be delivered in full by 2017, was acquired under an 18.9 billion peso (about $400 million) deal with South Korea.
Manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., they can fly at a speed of Mach 1.5.
Having these fighter jets "is very significant (for territorial defense) because it adds up to the capability. Now that we have a supersonic aircraft, our reaction time will be faster, and we are more capable with this type of aircraft," Pena said.
Among the recent additions to the Philippine military assets are Sokol helicopters and Hamilton-class cutters. The latter have been used to patrol the Philippines-claimed portion of the South China Sea.
On Friday, Aquino also authorized Gazmin to enter into multiyear contracts worth 44 billion pesos for the acquisition of two frigates, antisubmarine helicopters and amphibious assault vehicle for the Philippine Navy and a long range patrol aircraft, a close air support aircraft, munitions for the FA-50 and an air surveillance radar for the Philippine Air Force, according to Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo.
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