Philippine Air Force NEW FA-50 Fighter Jets Arrive from Korea
Two brand new FA-50 fighter jets for the Philippine Air Force(PAF) arrived last Saturday. The supersonic fighter planes were bought from South Korea with remaining 10 combat jets scheduled for delivery in 2017.
Two of the 12 FA-50 jets were initially delivered to the PAF. These planes were seen at Clark Air Base in Pampanga last week where a short ceremony was made to welcome the new aircraft of the Philippine Air Force.
Though this type of military plane is not primarily designed for combat, engineers mentioned that it can be easily transformed to a deadly fighter jet when needed. For now, it will be used as a trainer plane but advance weapons will be installed in the future. Before the delivery of the new FA-50 jets, members of PAF were sent to South Korea for a rigorous training.
The initial flight of the FA-50 supersonic jets were recorded by PDI news field reporter and was shared in Youtube. Two subsonic planes, s-211, escorted the arrival of FA-50 aircraft at Clark Air Base.
The FA-50 jets were bought from the Korea Aerospace Industries. Reports revealed that the aquisition of these new fighter jets cost P18.8 billion, an audited amount that was approved under the Armed Forces of the Philippines' modernization program.