PRESS RELEASE

 Public Information Office, Headquarters Philippine Air Force

            Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, Pasay City

              Telefax (632) 853-5023 local: 6629/6529

          Email: pio@paf.mil.ph & paf_pio@yahoo.com

                        DATE: March 04,  2009                MAJ GERARDO M ZAMUDIO JR

                                                                Director, PIO

SND, CGPAF to lead maiden flight of 15 PAF T-41Bs  

In an act of confirmation to the airworthiness of the 15 T-41B Trainer Planes and an affirmation of faith to the capability of its mechanics who assembled the planes, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Philippine Air Force Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Oscar H. Rabena, will lead other pilots in a simultaneous maiden flight of all 15 aircraft after the ceremonial turn-over of the planes from the government of South Korea to the Philippine government on Thursday, March 5 at Clark Air Base, Pampanga

Teodoro, who will receive the aircraft in behalf of the Philippine government from Korean Ambassador Choi Jung Kyung, is a certified pilot while Rabena, a former commandant of the Philippine Air Force Flying School, is a combat ready pilot who saw action in various PAF operating zones nationwide before he started a focused career in military planning. Both will be joined by PAF pilots in the flight which will first hop to nearby Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga before flying in formation all the way to Fernando Air Base in Lipa City.

The disassembled planes left the port of Pusan, South Korea last December 4 and arrived four days later at Manila’s South Harbor. These were then hauled by PAF to its 410^th Maintenance Wing facility in Clark for assembly. Initially targeted for completion on February 16, the PAF mechanics finished reassembling the 15 planes four days ahead of schedule on February 12.

The arrival of the trainer planes will greatly enhance the operational readiness of the entire Philippine Air Force, especially in training its pilots for the transition to territorial defense mode in 2012 from the current internal security operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The delivery of the trainer planes is part of a program strengthening the logistics support capabilities of both the Korean and the Philippine Armed Forces as contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Logistics and Defense Industry Cooperation entered into by both governments in May 24, 1994. The MOU covers expanded and enhanced logistical cooperation such as procurement, supply, maintenance, and transportation, among others.

The delivery of 15 T-41B trainer planes is the ninth delivery from Korea to the Armed Forces of the Philippines since 1993. Earlier deliveries included 12 PK Boats (high speed coastal surveillance patrol boats), 10 PKM Boats (medium high speed coastal surveillance patrol boats), three F-5/A aircraft, 16 buses for the Philippine Military Academy, parachutes, army field telephones, Kevlar ballistic helmets, mobility and engineering equipments, ammunition and maintenance parts for PK and PKM Boats.

The bilateral relationship between both Armed Forces also helps the Korean military and defense establishments who regularly send their officers to the National Defense College and the AFP Command and General Staff Course in Camp Aguinaldo.