Two New Fighter Jets Purchased In South Korea Arrive In The Philippines; South Koreans Piloted FA-50 Golden Eagle Fighter Jets

First two units of fighter jets purchased in South Korea arrived in the Philippines on Saturday. CNN reported on the same day that two fighter jets, piloted by South Koreans, arrived at Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Hosting the arrival ceremony were Defense chief Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Hernando Iriberri.

GMA Network reported Saturday that the two units are the first supersonic assets of the Philippine Air Force ever since the F-5s was decommissioned ten years ago.

Gazmin and Iriberri also examined the FA-50 Golden Eagle fighter jets upon its arrival at Clark Air Base.

"We're glad we're finally back to supersonic age," says Gazmin.

Meanwhile, one of the Filipino pilots who were trained to fly the aircraft said the purchase of the FA-50 will develop the competence of the Philippines' military.

"We are very much elated and very proud that we now have this state-of-the-art aircraft. We've flown a push pull cable, subsonic aircraft - the S-211," says Lt. Col. Rolando Condrad Peña III. "Now that we have the FA-50s, it usher in a new history, so flying, going back, returning to the supersonic age so to speak."

Peña continues, "The aircraft is a lead in fighter trainer so it is a light attack aircraft. It can do light multi-role missions but primarily it is a lead in fighter trainer. This is going to be a transition platform for us, from flying the subsonic S-211 to the more advanced multi-role fighters we'll be acquiring."

Reports have revealed that the Philippines has ordered a dozen of supersonic trainers from the Korean Aerospace Inc. (KAI). KAI and the Philippines' Department of National Defense reportedly reached an 18.9-billion pesos ($400 million) deal last year.

Further reports have revealed that the ten other fighter jets will be delivered in 2017.