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October 1st, 2005 11:37 PM #1
FLORIDABLANCA-- (UPDATE) The Philippine Air Force on Saturday decommissioned its 40-year-old F5 jets that formed the core of the country's air defense and also saw action against communist and Muslim rebels and military mutineers.
A lone F-5 jet, piloted by Brigadier General Manuel Natividad, the commander of the air defense wing, taxied into its hangar in Basa airbase north of Manila to symbolize the end of the service.
The air force said the last 10 remaining fighter-bombers were too old and too expensive to maintain in view of the shift in military resources to tackling internal defense rather than external threats.
The first 23 brand new jets were acquired in 1965 from the United States under a bilateral military assistance pact, making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country to have supersonic fighters.
Since then the jets have been used extensively to patrol areas claimed by the Philippines in the disputed Spratly Islands chain and the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
The jets were used to back soldiers fighting communist insurgents in the central and northern Philippines and Muslim separatist rebels and the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the south. They blasted military rebel positions at an airbase south of Manila during a coup attempt in 1989.
The whole F5 fleet has been grounded since May 2001 following a crash of one of the jets during a joint military exercise with the U.S. military.
The subsonic Augusta AS-211 jet trainer and light attack aircraft will temporarily perform external defense duties, the air force said.
Captain Ephraim G. Suyom, spokesman for the Air Defense Wing at Basa Air Base in northern Pampanga province said five of the remaining 10 F5s were still "serviceable" but all of them could be used "in case of war."
"In extreme emergency, you do what you have to do," he said.
The acquisition of the F-5 jets in 1965 made the Philippines the first country in the region to operate supersonic fighters but due to a lack of money, the country now has one of the most primitive armed forces in the region.
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Langya! Iyan na nga lang nag-iisang jet fighter natin, na-decommissioned pa? Ano na natira, yung mga TORA_TORA?
May FORCE pa ba Air Force natin?
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October 1st, 2005 11:40 PM #2
puro Air nalang hehe. Gliders nalang like those in the movies and the game Far Cry, commando gliders LOL
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TheOneThatIs
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October 1st, 2005 11:43 PM #3I guess it doesn't matter that much, since ang kalaban lang naman is usually the rebels in the Mindanao area. If ever naman may makalaban ang Pilipinas na malakas talaga, wala naman tayo magagawa but to ask help from our allies.
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October 2nd, 2005 12:07 AM #4
Currently, there are no external threats to the Phil. so I guess, that's the reason why they decided to decommision the last F5. I think this is also one measure to force the govt. to allocate more funds sa Air----- (wala na kasing force e, hehhehe)
But this is embarassing to the country's international image.
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TheOneThatIs
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October 2nd, 2005 12:39 AM #5Bakit naman embarassing? One supersonic jet isn't too flattering either.
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October 2nd, 2005 12:54 AM #6
I agree. Hindi fighter jet ang kailangan natin. Kundi APACHE attack helicopter para pwedeng paulanan ng Hellfire missiles yung buong Sierra Madre para maubos na yung mga NPA na kasama ni Ka Roger dun.
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October 2nd, 2005 12:57 AM #7
On the other hand, supersonic ba talaga yang F-5 ? :question:
Para kasing maghihiwalay yung mga piyesa niya sa hitsura pa lang.
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October 2nd, 2005 01:25 AM #8
Kasi parang it's adding insult to injury. Kawawa na nga defences ng Pinas, pati yung nag-iisang F5, mawawala pa. Pero I agree, what we need are Apaches and Comanches at iba pang '...ches'. Dapat palitan na rin yung mga UH1H; WW2 and Vietnam vintage pa mga yun.
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October 2nd, 2005 03:30 AM #9A lone F-5 jet, piloted by Brigadier General Manuel Natividad, the commander of the air defense wing, taxied into its hangar in Basa airbase north of Manila to symbolize the end of the service.
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October 2nd, 2005 03:33 AM #10"In extreme emergency, you do what you have to do," he said.
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