Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. welcomed the United States approval of the sale of 20 F-16 supersonic multi-role fighter jets to the Philippines.

In an interview with reporters at the headquarters of 2nd Infantry Division in Camp General Mateo Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal on Monday, Brawner said the AFP is still studying the specific type of multi-role fighters it will acquire for the Philippine Air Force.

"We are studying all the options, but definitely we want to buy multi-role fighters because we need it for the defense of our country. Whether these are the F-16s or Gripen or whatever other multi-role fighters, we are studying that. We are happy that the US Congress approved the sale of 20 F-16s to us, to the Philippines. But there is no final decision on this," he said.

"As to the multi-role fighters, we're still in the process of determining which one we can get according to our fiscal space, according to how we can afford these platforms," he added.

Despite the recent incident involving an FA-50 fighter aircraft that caused the death of two pilots in Bukidnon, Brawner noted that the acquisition of the additional FA-50 fighter jets are now on the pipeline.

"The acquisition of additional FA-50s, another 12 FA-50 jet fighters is now possible because it is now in the pipeline," he said.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has a total of 11 remaining FA-50 fighter jets after one of its aircraft crashed in Mt. Kalatungan while providing close air support operation to ground troops conducting operation against the New People's Army on March 4.

"I hope that our acquisition of these assets will speed up because this is very important for us," said Brawner. Robina Asido/DMS