TWO fighter jets flew over Davao City Friday, at 11:35 am, surprising a number of Dabawenyos.
"Abi namo'g giyera na, nakuyawan mi kay karon pako kakita ato, dugay nako diri sa Davao (I thought there was a war happening. I was definitely surprised since I’ve been in the city for a long time already and it was my first time to see a fighter jet over the city)," said Marisol Ibrahim, a businesswoman at Bankerohan Public Market, Davao City.
Based on the information gathered by VoxPop Davao, the two fighter jets were brand new FA-50 that were delivered to the Philippine Air Force last Thursday, February 22, 2016 at Clark Air Base, Pampanga.
From the air base in Pampanga, the jets were on a test flight yesterday to the Tactical Operations Group (TOG) 11, Sasa, Davao City.
The FA-50 has the capability to be equipped with air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
"The morale of the Philippine Air Force is very very high, we've been dreaming to have this capability. The AFP and the whole country is proud to have these," said Col. Antonio Francisco, PAF spokesperson, to the members of the media last Thursday at the Clark Air Base.
According to the AFP the additional two FA-50s will add to the strength of the army in combating local terrorist groups in Central Mindanao.
Prior to the arrival of the two new jets, the PAF had zero fighter jet capability after its US-designed F-5 fighters were retired in 2005.
By the end of 2017, an additional six more fighter jets will be added to PAF’s force. (Jeepy P. Compio)
