A Philippine Air Force FA-50 fighter jet with two pilots on board went missing during a nighttime combat mission in a southern province, officials said Tuesday.
In a press conference, Air Force spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo said the FA-50 jet lost communication just before reaching its target while supporting an anti-insurgency operation against communist rebels around midnight on Monday.
JUST IN: @PhilAirForce spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo announces that an FA-50 fighter jet went missing during tactical night operations shortly after midnight Tuesday (March 4, 2025).
The aircraft lost communication with the rest of the flight involved in the mission… pic.twitter.com/FocRRz4TUB
— Philippine News Agency (@pnagovph) March 4, 2025
The missing jet was reportedly part of a group of aircraft carrying out airstrikes in the Pantaron mountain range in Northern Mindanao against the New People’s Army (NPA). The other jets completed their mission and returned safely to base, but efforts to re-establish contact with the lost aircraft failed.
The cause of the disappearance remains unclear, and search teams continue efforts to locate the pilots and aircraft.
FA-50 jets have ejection seats, allowing pilots to escape in emergencies. If they ejected, rescuers could locate them through emergency beacons, but officials have not confirmed if signals have been detected.
“Our primary concern right now is the safe return of our aircrew. We are hopeful of locating them and the aircraft soon,” Air Force spokesperson Col. Maria Consuelo Castillo said.
“We are still very optimistic that they are safe,” Castillo added.
This is the first major incident involving the Philippine Air Force’s FA-50 jets. The Philippines bought 12 of these aircraft from South Korea in 2015 for $331 million as part of a military modernization program. The jets have been used for counterinsurgency missions, national events, and patrols in the South China Sea.
Just last month, a U.S. military-contracted surveillance plane crashed in Maguindanao del Sur, a province in the southern Philippines, killing all four people on board, including a U.S. Marine and three defense contractors.
The Beechcraft King Air 350 was on a routine intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission at the request of Philippine allies when it went down near the town of Ampatuan, according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
