Philippine Air Force to receive first two of twelve FA-50's by 4'th quarter of 2014

Artist's rendition of FA-50 together with S211's in Philippine Air Force-- Photo from filipina40's library in Photobucket.com

MANILA, Philippines--Philippine Airforce expects to receive the first two of the 12 FA-50 lead-in trainer jets from South Korea before the end of next year.

The FA-50s would serve as trainer and fighter aircraft for the Air Force, which is a major beneficiary under the P75-billion Armed Forces modernization program.

“This [deal] is already approved in principle, and at this point, we’re now going into the detailed training of our team with the Korean team,” said Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino Dela Cruz.

Filipino Pilots on-board S211 Jet Trainer

“Our target date is…it should have at least two initially by the end of the fourth quarter of 2014, and then the rest would be the following six months thereafter,” He added.

The Air Force retired its F-5 jet fighters in 2005 but failed to acquire replacements due to financial crisis that hit South East Asia.

According to Dela Cruz, after the first delivery, the remaining jets should be delivered every two months.

“Hopefully, we have it all delivered before the middle of 2016, if everything goes right,” he said.

Aside from the fighter jets, DND is in the market for (3) Multi-Purpose Attack Craft, (2) brand new missile firing frigates, (3) multi-role vessels (MRV), long- range aircraft, radars, coast watch stations, anti-submarine helicopters and other modern military assets.