A Philippine Air Force (PAF) FA-50 fighter jet and its two-man crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said Tuesday.
Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.”
While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed to Agence France Presse (AFP) that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in Mindanao’s Bukidnon province.
Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco Garello of the 4th Infantry Division told AFP that air support had been called in overnight during a firefight with the New People’s Army in a mountainous area.
“There was a firefight between the 403rd Infantry Brigade (Philippine Army) and the rebels, and they made a request for air support, so the air force supported the encounter,” said Garello.
The long-running Maoist insurgency is now believed to have fewer than 2,000 guerrilla fighters.
In an earlier statement, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said the missing jet had lost contact with other fighters in the group “minutes before reaching its target area.”
While the air force has only confirmed the plane as “missing,” a disaster official in Bukidnon province told AFP preparations were being made for community-based forest rangers to search the area where the fighter’s signal was lost.
The fighters flew out of Mactan–Benito Ebuen Air Base, which shares a runway with the airport in Cebu, the Philippines’ second-largest city.
PAF spokeswoman Castillo told reporters it was the “first major incident involving” its squadron of FA-50s, which have previously been used in exercises over the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippines has a dozen of the fighters purchased from South Korea in the last decade.
The FA-50s have taken part in joint air patrols with treaty ally the United States over the contested South China Sea, where China and the Philippines have been involved in increasingly tense confrontations over reefs and waters.
Castillo said the PAF is hopeful that the pilots will be found soon and asked the nation for prayers for a successful search mission.
The Philippines has a squadron of a dozen FA-50 fighters acquired from South Korea in the last decade. With AFP
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “Air Force jet goes missing, search operation underway.”