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Via commons.wikimedia.org
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Benigno C. Aquino III administration as recommended
by the Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and affirmed by Executive Secretary
Paquito Ochoa acquired 12 units of Korean Aerospace Industries ( KAI ) FA-50
jet aircrafts costing US$ 464-Million as among the major acquisitions of the P
170-Billion AFP Modernization Program. Many millions more were spent for
munitions including missiles and bombs to hit air and land targets.
Moreover, the overpriced, unproven and limited
production jet aircrafts were advertised as Multirole Fighters ( MRF ) for air
defense, ground attack and reconnaissance using air-to-air, air-to-ground
missiles and precision guided bombs. The original T-50 aircraft was designed as
an advanced jet trainer following the LIFT concept.
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Via moderntribune.info
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"We have received so many things from America.
Thank you for your generosity. What they sold us, two, only two FA-50 (fighter
jets). It’s FA-50 but they never gave us the missiles and the bullets and the
cannons to fight. For ceremonial lang (only)," he said.
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Via Presidential Photos
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The FA-50 jets that the President is referring to,
however, did not come from the US, but were bought, brand new, from South
Korea.
After PRRD criticized the Korean-made aircrafts
saying its just a "waste of money" because they could only be
used for ceremonies, sources from the PAF leaked serious technical issues of
incompatibility/integration between the FA-50's radar fire control system with
the U.S. Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, and perhaps with the Maverick ground
attack missiles, JDAM and precision guided bombs it was suppose to carry for
the required combat missions.
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Via Presidential Photos
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The fighter jets are just a part of the other military assets bought under the
Aquino administration to achieve "minimum credible defense," prompted
by the looming threat of China's aggressiveness in the contested South China
Sea.
However, Duterte had adopted a different stance
towards China and the US, a longtime ally with whom Manila signed a defense deal in 2014.
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