Philippine Commonwealth and independence Early years and World War II The forerunner of the Philippine Air Force was the Philippine Militia, otherwise known as Philippine National Guard (PNG). On March 17, 1917, Senate President
Manuel L. Quezon enacted a bill (Militia Act 2715) for the creation of the Philippine Militia. It was enacted in anticipation of an outbreak of hostilities between
United States and
Germany. By the end of
the First World War, the
US Army and
Navy began selling aircraft and equipment to the Philippine Militia Commission. The Commission then hired the services of the
Curtiss Flying School to provide flight training to 33 students at Camp Claudio,
Parañaque. The early aviation unit was, however, still lacking enough knowledge and equipment to be considered as an
air force and was then limited only to air transport duties. becoming Southeast Asia's third air force as a result. The main aircraft type in the earlier era of the PAF was the
P-51 Mustang, flown from 1947 to 1959. Ground attack missions were flown against various insurgent groups, with aircraft hit by ground fire but none shot down. In the 1950s the Mustang was used by the Blue Diamonds aerobatic display team. These would be replaced by the jet-powered
North American F-86 Sabres in the late 1950s, assisted by
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star and
Beechcraft T-34 Mentor trainers. used by the Philippine Air Force after independence
1963 Congo Mission and the Limbas Squadron The
United Nations Operation in the Congo would be the first international mission of the Philippine Air Force after President
Diosdado Macapagal deployed the 9th Tactical Fighter "Limbas" Squadron to assist the United Nations. The 9th Tactical Fighter Squadron left for the Congo on 11 February 1963 and conducted flight operations from Kamina Air Base.
Cold War era Marcos rule and People Power Revolution When unrest arising from news of the
Jabidah Massacre during
Ferdinand Marcos'
first presidential term triggered the
Moro conflict in Mindanao and the establishment of the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1972, the PAF was called upon to actively provide air support for the AFP campaign against MNLF in Central Mindanao, aside from doing the airlifting duties for troop movements from Manila and Cebu to the conflict zone. Traditional workhorses like the
UH-1H choppers,
L-20 “Beaver” aircraft, and
C-47 gunships were mainly used in the campaign. In the same decade, the PAF Self-Reliance Development Group, the forerunner of the Air Force Research and Development Center (AFRDC) was created. The Center enabled the PAF to create prototypes of aircraft aside on going into partnership with the private sector for some of its requirements. In late 1977, the Philippine government purchased 35 secondhand
U.S. Navy F-8Hs that were stored at
Davis-Monthan AFB in
Arizona. Twenty-five of them were refurbished by Vought and the remaining 10 were used for spare parts. As part of the deal, the U.S. would train Philippine pilots in using the TF-8A. They were mostly used for intercepting
Soviet bombers. The F-8s were grounded in 1988 and were finally withdrawn from service in 1991 after they were badly damaged by the
Mount Pinatubo eruption, and have since been offered for sale as scrap. The PAF played a key part in ending the
Marcos dictatorship during the 1986
People Power Revolution through the "Sotelo landing" of February 24, 1986. Forces under Defense Minister
Juan Ponce Enrile had planned a coup against Marcos but were discovered early, and, trapped in
Camp Aguinaldo, asked the support of
Philippine Constabulary Chief
Fidel Ramos in nearby
Camp Crame. When Roman Catholic Cardinal
Jaime Sin learned about the situation, he called upon Philippine civilians, many of whom were preparing to protest the anomalous results of the
1986 Philippine presidential election to form a human barricade around the camps, effectively preventing Marcos' forces from taking the camps in a land assault but leaving the camps vulnerable to attack from the air. After determining that all his men were no longer willing to support Marcos in the aftermath of the election, Col. Antonio Sotelo defected with the entirety of the
15th Strike Wing, Philippine Air Force, landing 6
S-76 gunships, 2 rescue helicopters, and a utility BC-105 on the grounds of Ramos' headquarters at Camp Crame. Sotelo and his forces then later flew back to Villamor Air Base to disable six remaining UH-1 'Huey' helicopters which Marcos' forces could have used to attack the camps. This encouraged even more AFP units to withdraw their support for the dictatorship.
1986–1990 Coup attempts The following years remained hostile for the Philippines, a series of bloody coup attempts led by then Col.
Gregorio Honasan of the
Reform the Armed Forces Movement, involved thousands of renegade troops, including elite units from the
army and
marines, in a coordinated series of attacks on
Malacanang and several major military camps in Manila and surrounding provinces, including
Sangley and
Villamor Air Base, using the
T-28 aircraft for aerial assaults. President
Corazon Aquino found it necessary to request
United States support to put down the uprising. As a result, a large US special operations force was formed and named
Operation Classic Resolve, as
USAF F4 fighter aircraft stationed at
Clark Air Base patrolled above rebel air bases, and two aircraft carriers were positioned off the Philippines. The US operation soon caused the coup to collapse. Additional US forces were then sent to secure the
American embassy in Manila. The military uprisings resulted in an estimated US$1.5 billion loss to the
Philippine economy.
US military departure from the Philippines The
Cold War Era has reached its endpoint as tensions between the two ideological rivals, the
United States and the
Soviet Union, have simmered down as a result of the dissolution of the latter and the massive change of political system among its allies. in
Central Luzon The fate of the US military bases in the country was greatly affected by these circumstances, and by the catastrophic eruption of
Mount Pinatubo in 1991 which engulfed the installations with ash and lahar flows. The nearby
Clark Air Base was eventually abandoned afterwards, while the
Philippine Senate voted to reject a new treaty for
Subic Naval Complex, its sister American installation in
Zambales. This occurrence had effectively ended the century-old US military presence in the country, even as President
Corazon Aquino tried to extend the lease agreement by calling a national referendum, leaving a security vacuum in the region and terminated the flow of economic and military aid into the Philippines.
Contemporary era AFP modernization efforts and 1997 Asian financial crisis The importance of territorial defense capability was highlighted in the public eye in 1995 when the AFP published photographs of Chinese structures on
Mischief Reef in the Spratlys. . Initial attempts to improve the capabilities of the
Armed Forces happened when a law was passed in the same year for the sale of redundant military installations and the devotion of 35 percent of the proceeds for AFP upgrades. Subsequently, the legislature passed the
AFP Modernization Act. The law sought to modernize the AFP over a 15-year period, with minimum appropriation of 10-billion Pesos per year for the first five years, subject to increase in subsequent years of the program. The modernization fund was to be separate and distinct from the rest of the AFP budget. However, the
1997 Asian financial crisis greatly affected the AFP Modernization Program due to the government's austerity measures. Several air assets acquired by the Philippine Air Force through the original AFP Modernization Program of 1995 were the
AW109 armed scout helicopters, and airlift assets like the
Airbus C295 and
CASA C212 Aviocar.
A decade of neglect jet trainer/
light attack aircraft, which served as "gap stopper" for the PAF in its air defense operations Since the retirement of the
Northrop F-5s in September 2005 without a planned replacement, the Philippine Air Force was left without fighter jets. The PAF resorted to the
Aermacchi S-211 trainer jets to fill the void left by the F-5's. These S-211's were later upgraded to light attack capability and used for air and sea patrol and also performed
counter-insurgency operations from time to time. The only active fixed wing aircraft to fill the roles were the
SF-260 trainers with light attack capability, the
OV-10 Bronco light attack and reconnaissance aircraft and the AS-211 warriors (upgraded S-211).
South China Sea arbitration case and revised AFP Modernization Program The incidents with Chinese presence in the
South China Sea prompted the Philippines to proceed with formal measures while challenging the Chinese activities in some of the sea features in the disputed island chain. Hence, the
South China Sea Arbitration Case was filed by the Philippines in 2013 at the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Reminiscent to what occurred in 1995, the Congress passed the
Revised AFP Modernization Act of 2012, which was meant to replace the older AFP Modernization Act of 1995 signed during former President
Fidel V. Ramos’ term, when its 15-year program effectivity expired in 2010. light multi-role fighter/LIFTs escorting a
Philippine Airlines flight carrying
President Benigno S. Aquino III Major air assets acquired under this new modernization program iteration were 12
FA-50 Light Fighters, while those programmed for future procurements are
Multi-Role Fighters and
Maritime Patrol Aircraft, among other equipment.
Flight Plan 2028 In response to regional strategic challenges and perceived internal weaknesses, the PAF has embarked on a transformation process to enhance its capabilities. Flight Plan 2028 is administered by the Air Force Strategy Management Office (AFSMO), and aims to: • Build the PAF capability to detect, identify, intercept and neutralize intrusions in the Philippine Air Defense Identification Zone (PADIZ) and the
South China Sea (to the North and West of the
archipelago) from Area Readiness 4 to Area Readiness 3 by 2022. • Build the PAF capability to detect, identify, intercept and neutralize intrusions into the entire Philippine territory from Area Readiness 3 to Area Readiness 1 by 2028; The plan calls for a reorienting of the Philippine Air Force from a primarily internal security role to a territorial defence force. It will require substantial organisational, doctrinal, training, strategic and equipment transformation.
US-Philippine Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement In April 2014, the
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed by the representatives of the Philippine and US Governments, aimed at bolstering the military alliance of both countries. The agreement allows the United States to rotate troops into the Philippines for extended stays and allows the U.S. to build and operate temporary facilities on Philippine military bases for both American and Philippine forces' use. Both parties agreed to determine the military installations across the Philippines as covered by the pact, including the former
US Subic Bay Naval Base and
Clark Air Base, as well as several locations in Cebu, Luzon, and Palawan. As of 2016, four PAF bases and one Army camp have been determined by the United States and the Philippines to be utilized under the agreement. The Air Force Bases are
Basa Air Base,
Antonio Bautista Air Base,
Benito Ebuen Air Base, and
Lumbia Airfield. ==Organization==