PH, US fighter pilots complete bilateral training in Pampanga

BaACE-P participants pose in front of an FA-50 of the PAF and an F16 of the US at Cesar Basa Air Base in Pampanga. (Photo from the US Air Force)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) have concluded their joint training at the Cesar Basa Air Base in Pampanga.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy, members of the PAF and PACAF took part in a 12-day training dubbed as the Bilateral Air Contingent Exchange-Philippines (BACE-P) from Jan. 21 to Feb. 1, 2019.

The training exercise served as an opportunity for fighter pilots from both military branches “to practice interfly training and conduct subject matter expert exchanges including intelligence, flight line, and maintenance operations.”

“Having the F-16 fighter [at Basa] allowed us to interact with our PAF (Philippine Air Force) partners along with their FA-50s and in turn helped to strengthen our interoperability and training with a key partner,” Col. Christopher Faurot, commander of the BACE-P 13th Expeditionary Air Squadron, said in an article released by the Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs.

“Through this engagement, our bilateral forces increased their interoperability, and our partners demonstrated that they are a disciplined, professional and highly motivated force,” he added.

The airmen also engaged in subject matter expert exchanges on topics on crash recovery, communications, fightline, and maintenance back-shop operations which concluded with a large force exercise on February 1, the article further explained.

Meanwhile, Maj. Mario Mendoza, a PAF FA-50 pilot, said: “The U.S. Air Force [shared with] us a lot of [knowledge] throughout this exercise that we can really apply in the near future.”

“During our exchange, I learned a lot when it comes to fighter operations, specifically air-to-air and air-to-ground. Air-to-air-like intercepts of different kinds of targets, threats airborne, and… threats on the ground, specifically dealing with close air support mission,” he added.

According to the article, this year’s training is the seventh iteration of the BACE-P.

The first one was conducted on April 16, 2016, by the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, which was led by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. /atm