Phl Air Force highlights landmark missions abroad in 66th anniversary

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 2): Phl Air Force highlights landmark missions abroad in 66th anniversary

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) on its 66th anniversary, Monday, highlighted two of its landmark missions abroad which has strengthen its capability to defend the country’s territory.

In his opening remarks at the rites that was graced by President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay, PAF Commanding General Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino Dela Cruz said “we commemorate this year the Golden Anniversary of our humanitarian mission in Bali, Indonesia at the height of the eruption of Mount Agung in 1963 and the Congo Crisis where we sent our fighter pilots then as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force. These events exhibited our strong commitment to serve and demonstrated the skills of our airmen beyond our borders,”

PAF in 2012 flew more than 35,000 flying hours in more than 28,000 sorties of different combat, combat support, combat service support, and humanitarian and disaster response missions.

“But the numbers will tell you just a fraction of the story. What is important to us is the story coming from the personal experiences of a ground commander who needed a close air support mission so he could advance his troop and seize his objective or the story of one platoon leader and his men who needed to be airlifted into a safe refuge or the stories of survivors who almost drowned at the height of typhoon Pablo in Davao, Agusan, and Surigao. These and many other stories demonstrate the relevance of having a very capable Air Force,” Dela Cruz said.

In line with this, PAF was able to put back into commission seven aircrafts- one C-130 Hercules, two N-22 Nomads, one F-27 Fokker, one Cessna 210, one MG-520 attack helicopter, and one UH-1H which has helped accomplished multi-faceted missions across the archipelago.

With the passage of the New Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act, PAF will be able to procure additional state-of-the-art equipment such as lead-in fighters, long-range patrol aircraft, close air support aircraft, light-lift fixed-wing aircraft, medium-lift aircraft, attack helicopters, combat utility helicopters, air defense radars, and flight simulators.

“Air Power is People Power. Ang lakas po naming ay buhat sa pinagsama-samang tiwala ng buong sambayanang Pilipino! (Air Power is People Power. Our strength comes from the collaborative trust of the entire Filipino nation),” Dela Cruz added.

PAF was founded on July 1, 1947- two years after the end of World War II.

It traces its lineage to the Philippine Army Air Corp, which was established in 1941.

This year’s celebration is anchored on the theme “Makabagong Lakas, Matatag na Bukas.”

http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?article=561372690131