CLARK AIR BASE—“It’s like driving a Ferrari.” This was how Lt. Col. Rolando Pena III, one of the first three Philippine Air Force pilots trained to fly FA-50 fighter jets, described how it was like to fly their newest asset.
The planes will undergo acceptance and test flights before being commissioned to the Air Force. Training for the three Filipino pilots took about six and a half months in Korea.
“It’s very significant because it adds up to the capability … we have to contend with the subsonic aircraft … now that we have a supersonic aircraft, our reaction time will be faster and we are more capable,” he said.
Another project is in the pipeline for the weapons of the new fighter jets, Pena said.