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| TA-50 Golden Eagle |
By Jose Rafael Cesar Atencio
QUEZON CITY, May 25 (PIA) -- The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is planning to revive the famed "Blue Diamond" Squadron as soon as it acquires new aircraft capable of defending the country's airspace and humanitarian missions.
This was learned from PAF spokesman Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol in an exlusive interview at Villamor Air Base (VAB) in Pasay City.
“We have identified our needs through our capability upgrade program (CUP) and Defense Acquisition System (DAS) as identified by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin,” Okol told the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
Okol said the highest priority is the revival of the country’s Air Defense System (ADS) which is in the form of Lead-in Fighter Trainers (LIFT)-Surface Attack Aircraft (SAA) role to be used for territorial defense as well as infrastructure.
He said the PAF is expected to acquire new planes July 2012. These include TA-50 Golden Eagle (Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) of South Korea; M-346 Master - Alenia Aermacchi (Italy); Yak-130 Mitten - Yakovlev Design Bureau (Russia); and L-159B ALCA - Aero Vodochody (Czech Republic).
Read the full story at PIA