FILE PHOTO: Philippine Air Force鈥檚 fighter jets: FA-50PH Nr 001 and 002. PAF FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� An FA-50 fighter jet of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) went missing early Tuesday before reaching its destination.
The incident is the most serious incident involving the country鈥檚 South Korean-built supersonic aircraft so far.
鈥淪hortly after midnight on March 4, 2025, an FA-50 fighter jet went missing during a tactical night operation,鈥� 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 鈥渕inutes before reaching the target area.鈥�
鈥淭he other aircraft repeatedly attempted to establish contact with the missing aircraft until their return to Mactan, Cebu,鈥澛燙astillo said.
At this time, she also cannot disclose the total number of the companion aircraft of the missing FA-50.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
鈥淥ur primary concern right now is the safe return of our aircrew,鈥� Castillo said.
鈥淲e are hopeful that we would still be able to recover [the FA-50], and we are still very optimistic that they are safe,鈥� she added.
PAF currently has 11 remaining FA-50s in its arsenal after retiring some of its fighters in 2005.
All the聽FA-50s聽were acquired from Korea Aerospace Industries for P18.9 billion during the administration of Benigno 鈥淣oynoy鈥� Aquino Jr.
搁贰础顿:听
In 2015, a T-50 Golden Eagle fighter jet, similar to PAF鈥檚 FA-50, crashed, killing two Indonesian pilots.
The FA-50 and T-50 are variants of the same military aircraft manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries.
鈥淎ccidents like this do happen, but it is our duty to face such聽dangers to serve the country,鈥� former military public affairs chief Col. Harold Cabunoc said of the T-50 crash in a Facebook post in December 2015.