Philippine fighter jet goes missing during mission
MANILA
Two Philippine Air Force FA-50 fighter jets fly during a joint patrol and training session with the U.S. over the South China Sea, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025
A Philippines FA-50 fighter jet and its two-man crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said on Tuesday.
Air force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying "over land" on the way to its target area when it went missing during a "tactical night operation in support of our ground troops."
While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed to AFP that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent "to provide air support" to troops fighting communist rebels in Mindanao's Bukidnon province.
Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco Garello of the 4th Infantry Division told AFP that air support had been called in overnight during a firefight with the New People's Army in a mountainous area.
The long-running Maoist insurgency is now believed to have fewer than 2,000 guerrilla fighters.
In an earlier statement, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said the missing jet had lost contact with other fighters in the group "minutes before reaching its target area."
While the air force has only confirmed the plane as "missing," a disaster official in Bukidnon province told AFP preparations were being made for community-based forest rangers to search the area where the fighter's signal was lost.
