After the PPL folded with a single match day, Air Force was absorbed into the revived Philippines Football League.

The Airmen were led by the swift forward Roberto Benavides, nicknamed Beep-beep Bitoy after a cartoon character, playmaker Polly Arenal and rugged defenders led by Eddie Dumago, Conrado Tolentino, Pepsi de la Cruz, and Pancho Zulla plus gusty goalkeeper Noe Doctora.

Pascual and coach Bertie Guanzon, always looking for talent, found Elmer "Lacknet" Bedia, who scored the winning goal that stunned San Miguel in the 1979 National Cup at Ugarte Field in Makati.

During the 1980 National League, Air Force was suspended for one year after a brawl with E Razon Inc. As the economic recession hit in 1983, commercial teams folded, and the military, upon Pascual's urging, recruited top players to sustain competition.

The Airmen, then called the Eagles, also won the only edition of the Manila Premier Football League in 1997, beating the Philippine Army Tamaraws for the title.

NCR-B, consisting of Navy and Air Force players, beat Davao in the final to win the title in the 3rd P-League edition.

In 2001, during the Army-Utilco Invitational Football Cup(1st edition), the Air Force beat Navy FC, 5–1, in their Third-place match.

Also during that year, the Philippine Air Force pulled off an exciting 2–1 victory over the Navy to capture the Third Globe Super Cup football crown.

During that Globe Super Cup finals, Barsales received a 35-yard pass from a direct free kick by teammate Edsel Bracamonte, the enterprising striker booted in the marginal goal in the 75th minute from point-blank following a goalmouth scramble to seal the Seamen's fate.

The Air Force did not join the Filipino Premier League in 2008, opting to stay at the Terry Razon Cup, which was similar to the FPL but had more teams with eleven.

Philippine Air Force, which has carried the cudgels for the military squads after the decline of the Navy, won the United Football League Division 1 title in 2010 and 2011.

When Philippine Air Force defeated the national team player-laden Loyola 2–0 during the 2011 UFL Cup Finals, Edmundo Mercado Jr., adjudged the tournament's best goalkeeper, defiantly and somewhat controversially proclaimed his side as "true Filipinos."

[6] After a three-year break hiatus, the Philippine Air Force announced the latest return for the 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara.

[7] ^ Competed as NCR-B (Air Force and Navy combination) Note: Performances of the club indicated here was after the UFL Division 1 created (as a semi-pro league) in 2009.