President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to New York over the weekend to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday, September 21 (Tuesday, September 20, New York time). The UNGA “provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations,” where all 193 UN state members have an equal vote.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) shared a video clip of FA-50PHs escorting the Presidential Flight on their official Facebook Page. These fighter jets are PAF’s premier air combat aircraft that are used extensively for air defense, attack, and other support missions. Watch the clip below!
In another post, the PAF explained that fighter jets escorting PBBM’s flight on September 18 is a standard operating procedure. “The fighter jets escorted the presidential flight in the country’s eastern front starting over Polilio island all the way up to 200 nautical miles. Fighter escorting, more than just a tradition, is an essential standard operating procedure to clear and secure our air space for the arrival and departure of the President of the Republic and other visiting heads of state. The said procedure is similarly practiced in other countries for added security of their presidential flights,” it said.
Afterward, the fighter jets reportedly resumed conducting their regular maritime patrol to secure the country from unauthorized intrusions within our Philippine Air Defense Identification Zone (PADIZ).
According to the Philippine News Agency, “the FA-50PHs have a top speed of Mach 1.5 or one and a half times the speed of sound and is capable of being fitted with air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-9 ‘Sidewinder’ air-to-air and heat-seeking missiles aside from light automatic cannons and bombs.”
Acquired from Korea Aerospace Industries for Php 18.9 billion, a total of 12 FA-50s were delivered from November 2015 to May 2017.
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