MANILA: An FA-50 fighter jet of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) went missing early Tuesday (March 4) before reaching its destination.
This is one of the most serious incidents involving the country’s South Korean-built supersonic aircraft so far.
“Shortly after midnight on March 4, 2025, an FA-50 fighter jet went missing during a tactical night operation,” said PAF spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo.
Castillo said the FA-50 with two pilots on board was supposed to land at Mactan Airbase in Cebu.
However, the jet lost communication with one of its fellow aircraft “minutes before reaching the target area.”
“The other aircraft repeatedly attempted to establish contact with the missing aircraft until their return to Mactan, Cebu,” Castillo said.
At this time, she also cannot not disclose the total number of the companion aircraft of the missing FA-50.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
“Our primary concern right now is the safe return of our aircrew,” Castillo said.
“We are hopeful that we would still be able to recover [the FA-50], and we are still very optimistic that they are safe,” she added.
PAF currently has 11 remaining FA-50s in its arsenal after retiring some of its fighters in 2005.
All the FA-50s were acquired from Korea Aerospace Industries for P18.9 billion during the administration of Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino Jr. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
