The Philippine Air Force (PAF) can use its remaining subsonic SIAI Marchetti S-211 jet trainers for maritime patrols while the FA-50 fleet is grounded.

In a virtual press conference on Wednesday, PAF spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo explained that the S-211s serve as the trainer aircraft for the close-air support training of future fighter pilots.

“The S211s, that’s their entry level when you get to the fighter wing and you want to become a fighter pilot — the first aircraft that you have to fly are our S211s,” she said. 

“We also use it for maritime patrol. But basically, that's their primary use for training,” she added. 

Castillo assured that the FA-50 fleet would fly “in full mission-capable status.”

“We assure that before we deploy our aircraft for any flight mission, they are in the best condition for flight,” she said.

The FA-50 with tail number 002 is one of 12 jet fighters that will undergo a thorough investigation following the ill-fated incident in Bukidnon on Tuesday that killed two pilots.

She said the time frame for the investigation would really depend on the situation.

“The commitment of the Philippine Air Force is to always ensure that we get it back into flying status because we need to have it fly to guard our territorial waters and whenever we need it also in support of our ground operations,” Castillo said. 

The PAF, she said, wants to ensure the FA-50 fleet is ready for operation while maintaining the safety of the personnel.

“But, as much as we want to have our aircraft ready for operations, we have to ensure also safety. We will make a balance — to ensure that we can conduct the investigation thoroughly enough, but at the same time swift enough so that we can get these back into operational status, all o these aircraft — to get them out from grounding as soon as possible without optimizing safety of course,” she added. 
Before acquiring the South Korean-made FA-50 light jet fighters, the PAF obtained at least 25 S-211 units in the 1990s, which included one partially completed airframe for spare parts and 15 that were assembled locally by the Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation.

These jets became the PAF's only fighter aircraft after the retirement of the seven F-5 aircraft in 2005 due to airframe cracks, high fuel costs, and challenges in obtaining spare parts.

The S-211 light attack aircraft can carry two pilots and is capable of carrying guns, rockets, and unguided bombs for close-air support missions.