MANILA - The head of the Philippine Air Force admits the country's air assets are no match for the People's Liberation Army Air Force's formidable fleet of jet fighters.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado said that while the Philippine Air Force is now buying more planes, it cannot match the number of aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force in the next five years.
A Pentagon report earlier said the PLAAF is the largest Air Force in Asia and third largest in the world. The report noted the PLAAF is made up of "approximately 330,000 personnel and more than 2,800 total aircraft, not including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)."
Delgado said the PAF has no jet fighters after retiring its fleet of of Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter in 2005.
The Philippines has purchased 12 FA-50 fighter jets built by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) under a government-to-government deal. The first batch of the planes will be delivered in 2015.
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The Philippines has also completed a P4.8 billion contract with Canadian Commercial Corp. and Canada's Bell Helicopters to build eight helicopters for the military.
RADIO DZMM, June 18, 2014
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