TWO FA-50 fighter jets the Philippines bought from South Korea finally arrived at Clark on Saturday, with defense and military officials gushing the aircraft have ushered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) into the supersonic age.
The jets, flown in by South Korean pilots, touched down at Clark Air Base at 10:23 a.m., with officials, including Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri, welcoming the addition to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) assets under the ongoing capability upgrade of the military.
Lt. Col. Rolando Condrad Peña III, one of three PAF pilots trained in South Korea to fly the jets, compared the FA-50 to high-end sportscars when it comes to other PAF assets he has flown.
This is a fly-by-wire aircraft, according to Peña, who is assigned with the PAF Air Defense Wing. “It is practically an electronic jet, so more of the system. There are a lot of adjustments, because this one has the hands on throttle and stick.” He added that the jets are 4- to 4.5-generation type of aircraft.