BASA AIR BASE (Philippines): Fighter pilot Carlos Evangelista has difficulty holding back nostalgic feelings every time he hears the soundtrack of the 1986 movie Top Gun.

A major in the Philippine Air Force, Evangelista sings or hums the Righteous Brothers’ song You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.

“Since my cadet days, that song has been our class favourite,” he says, adding it was an inspiration for him to fly F-5A planes, the main weapon in the Philippine air defences until the fleet of 37 fighter jets was formally retired on Oct. 1.

Losing the 40-year-old planes evokes even more emotions for Evangelista, the last pilot to fly the F-5A on a mission.

“We need to acquire the capability for our external defence and to regain our national identity and protect our sovereignty,” he says.

The Philippines, a close ally of the United States, has one of the worst equipped armed forces in the Asia-Pacific region, patrolling the nation’s 7,000 islands with World War Two navy boats and aircraft dating from the Vietnam War.

Major-General Pedro Ike Inserto, the chief of air staff, says the Philippines is not only losing planes due to a shortage of funds and changes in the government’s security policy, but also its roster of experienced and skilled pilots.

“We have a big pool of pilots with fewer planes to fly,” Inserto says, adding the Philippine Air Force still has more than 100 aircraft, including 80 Vietnam War-era UH-1H helicopters used in the fight against communist rebels.

“We cannot stop them from leaving for a much better and higher-paying job in commercial airlines. As long as they have completed the mandatory eight-year service in the air force, we will not stop them from seeking greener pastures.”

Air force officials say up to 50 people complete the 18-month basic aviation course at the Philippine Air Force Flying School every year.

In a typical year, about 20 first-rate pilots leave the service. But this year that number has doubled, with half going to fly with commercial airlines in the Middle East and in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 1998, there was also an exodus of military pilots when up to 70 joined Philippine Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, after a labour dispute with the local pilots’ union.

Air force officials say commercial pilots get three to four times the pay of military aviators, but in doing so sacrifice the thrills and adventures of flying combat missions.

Brigadier-General Manuel Natividad, chief of the air defence command, has sought to allay fears of a shortage of military pilots, saying there are hundreds queuing to join the flying school.

Natividad has about 60 pilots flying six Italian-made basic trainer jets, the Agusta S-211, fitted with machine guns and capable of carrying rockets and 260-lb (118-kg) bombs.

He said the Philippines may start acquiring a replacement for the F-5A ‘Freedom Fighter’ in six years under the defence department’s revised modernization programme.

Zachary Abuza, a US-based security analyst with expertise of Southeast Asia, says the Philippine Air Force is in ‘dismal shape’.

“I don’t see how trainers are going to help defend the country,” he says. —Reuters