CLARK AIR BASE, Pampanga, Nov. 28 (PNA/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. (PNA/Kyodo)