PAF welcomes training with 4 US attack aircraft

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Air Force (PAF) welcomed yesterday the deployment of four US electronic attack aircraft along with over a hundred servicemen at Clark Field in Pampanga, purportedly to train their Filipino counterparts.

The stationing of four EA-18G Growlers or the two-seater F/A-18 Super Hornets and 120 support personnel came at a time when the US and China are engaged in heated exchanges over maritime security issues in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

“We welcome training opportunities that would further improve the skills of our air crew in tactical air and fighter operations,” PAF spokesman Col. Araus Robert Musico said.

He added that while their American counterparts brought up possible training with them, this has yet to be discussed or arranged.

Musico said any training with their US counterparts would focus on interoperability and familiarization between the US and the Filipino aircrew as well as aircraft maintenance technicians and equipment.

The US embassy said that the four Growlers would be in the country to train with PAF’s FA50 lead-in fighter jets. 

The government has procured a squadron of FA50s from South Korea, two units of which have been delivered and are being used to train Filipino pilots to handle supersonic fighter jets.

The US electronic attack aircraft and its personnel will also be supporting routine operation missions to support the PAF’s territorial defense operations.