South Korea to deliver 2 fighter jets next year

BUSAN – The Philippines expects delivery of two of the 12 lead-in fighter trainer jets it acquired from South Korea in December next year.

“The projected schedule is December of next year for the first two (jets),” President Aquino told reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Republic of Korea commemorative summit last Friday.

“We are getting 12 of them. (Delivery) will be finished by 2017,” he added.

Aquino noted the Philippines last had fighter aircraft in 2005, the year the Air Force decommissioned its vanguard F-5 jet fighters after guarding the national airspace for 40 years.

The F-5 fighters that patrolled Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea were retired after officials declared they were too old and too costly to maintain.

The decommissioning rendered the Philippines practically defenseless against external threats and depleted the capabilities of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), then considered as one of the strongest in the region.

The Philippines has no fighter aircraft in its hangar and is making do with decades-old air assets to secure its territories.

Aquino said the FA-50s would boost the Air Force’s ability to monitor the country’s territory and enable Filipino pilots to retain their skills.

He said it takes about four to eight hours before the country’s “very ancient planes” like the Nomad and Islander can reach their mission areas.

“For example, if you want to check on something, this is a jet, it gets there quick,” the President said.

“You are trained to plot using its radar, guide its air controllers. We may lose all these abilities. The purpose of these (jets) is to retain those abilities,” he added.

Last March, the Philippines and Korea Aerospace Industries signed a contract for the purchase of 12 lead-in fighter trainer jets worth P18.9 billion.

The project is the biggest item in the military’s upgrade program and seeks to improve the military’s territorial defense capabilities.

China pressure

Aquino, however, is mum on reports that China tried to block the sale of the jets to the Philippines, one of its rivals in the West Philippine Sea dispute.

Aquino said China’s protest was not coursed through him so he has to go back to what he read in the newspapers and intelligence reports.

“Well, that was several months ago. I’ll have to Google search the particular story. But I assume there is such pressure,” the President said.

“They key operative word is ‘I assume.’ The protest was not coursed through me,” he added.

Aquino nevertheless cited media reports stating that South Korea has decided to push through with the sale.

“I think I read it in our media that Korea has responded to the protest. I’m sorry I don’t remember the response: ‘but at the end of the day, there is transaction between two allies and shouldn’t be objected to.’ I might be paraphrasing but they didn’t agree to the request to stop the sale,” he said.

Earlier newspaper reports claimed China had asked South Korea to abort the sale of the FA-50 jets to the Philippines and the donation of a corvette warship to the Philippine Navy.