About time Philippines!!!
At long last the Philippine Navy’s new missile
frigate was formally launched at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)
shipbuilding facility in Ulsan, South Korea Thursday.
The modern missile-armed frigate which will be
known as BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) is the first combat vessel designed and
purposely acquired for the Philippine Navy.
BRP Jose Rizal which was launched at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea (photo credit to owner) |
Capt. Jonathan Zata, Navy spokesperson, said the
entire Philippine Navy (PN) personnel are happy with this new development after decades of aspirations of having a brand new, modern, and missile capable warship.
"All of us are equally thrilled that we will
soon be deploying a brand-new frigate, with anti-submarine, anti-surface,
anti-air, and electronic warfare capability to patrol and protect our vast
territorial waters," Zata said in an interview with the Philippine News
Agency (PNA).
This will be the Philippine Navy’s most modern and
powerful ship in service.
The PN spokesperson said the BRP Jose Rizal will
play a critical role in beefing up the country's anti-submarine, anti-surface
and anti-air, and electronic warfare capabilities aside from providing training
to new seagoing officers.
These brand new frigates are also expected to
escort the two Tarlac-class landing dock platforms, the BRP Tarlac (LD-601) and
BRP Davao del Sur (LD-602), while on missions.
"These frigates are built based on the
Incheon/FFX-I/HDF-3000-type multi-purpose frigate of the Republic of Korea Navy
(RoKN), which offers increased operational performance and enhanced
survivability," Zata said.
BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and its
sister ship BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) will be fully equipped with surface-to-air
and surface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes, launchers and weapon systems for
four-dimensional warfare.
Each ship will be armed with an
Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid cannon and Aselsan SMASH 3Omm remote-controlled
established naval gun.
The ship measures 351 feet long
and 46 feet wide and has a maximum speed of 25 knots and can travel up to 4,500
nautical miles at a cruising speed of 15 knots and can sustain operational
presence for 30 days.
These frigates for the Philippine
Navy are capable of withstanding rough sea conditions up to Sea State 7, which
means waves of up to six to nine meters high.
"Each frigate has a
complement of more than a 100 officers and crew. It has a flight deck towards
the stern with the ability to handle one maritime helicopter weighing up to 12
tons. Two rigid-hulled inflatable boats will be carried to conduct military and
emergency operations at sea," Zata added.
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Report from PNA
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