A Filipina has qualified to join the ranks of the country’s elite jet fighter pilots, the Philippine Air Force announced Thursday.
PAF spokesperson Col. Maynard Mariano said 1st Lt. Jul Laiza Mae B. Camposano-Beran qualified to fly into combat using the SIAI-Marchetti AS-211 light jet combat aircraft, which the PAF also uses in attack and surveillance missions.
“The PAF made history (by) having its own, first-ever female fighter pilot on March 30, 2022 from the 5th Fighter Wing at Basa Air Base, Floridablanca, Pampanga. 1st Lt. Jul Laiza Mae B. Camposano-Beran was checked out as the first female AS-211 combat mission ready pilot and wingman,” he added.
Mariano said Camposano-Beran first flew alone or went “solo” in the AS-211 on December 5, 2020.
“She had 150 plus hours flying the AS-211,” he added.
Mariano said Camposano-Berran underwent the “Jet Qualification Training” and the so-called “Intro To Fighter Fundamentals and Combat Crew Training” both in the AS-211, before flying “solo.”
These trainings, which take around two years, are done to ensure that fighter pilot trainees like Camposano-Beran will not only know how to fly the aircraft but will also allow them to learn about fighting air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-surface in the AS-211, he added.
“And while doing this, she was also flying with the FA-50 as a backseat pilot and (gaining) combat experience having flown in the FA-50 on an actual strike mission,” he added.
