Sunday, September 1, 2013

PAF weighs P19-b jet purchases

From the Manila Standard Today (Sep 2): PAF weighs P19-b jet purchases

THE Philippine Air Force is closely monitoring the investigation of the manufacturer of the T-50B lead-in jet fighter that crashed and killed two pilots Wednesday last week in South Korea.

The Air Force is interested in the case because the Defense Department is negotiating with Korea Air Space Industries the purchase of a dozen FA50 jet fighters, which have the same platform as the T-50, for P18.9 billion.

The T-50B is “South Korea’s first indigenous supersonic aircraft jointly developed by Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin,” according to an article that reported the crash.

The article said the crash was the second incident involving the same aircraft, and that the first was in November last year when a T-50 crashed into a mountain and killed the pilot.

On Friday last week, a source said a representative from KAI met with some officials of the Defense Department in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“The recent crash of a T-50B in Korea is still under investigation by South Korea’s Air Force,” Philippine Air Force spokesman Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol said.

“As for the [Philippine Air Force’s] plan to acquire the FA50, this will be taken up with the manufacturer to ensure that all issues are resolved should we proceed with the planned acquisition.”

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/09/02/paf-weighs-p19-b-jet-purchases/

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