The two-seater jet lost contact with other fighters on the training flight "minutes before reaching its target area", the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said in a statement.

The fighters were flown out of the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base, which shares a runway with the airport in Cebu, the Philippines' second-largest city.

"The PAF is conducting extensive and thorough search operations, utilizing all available resources, to locate the missing jet fighter aircraft. Our primary concern is the safe return of our aircrew," said the statement.

The Philippines has a squadron of a dozen FA-50 fighters acquired from South Korea in the last decade.