Ang Pahayagan

A ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official on Monday said the service’s fleet expansion is going well with the acquisition and commissioning of major surface combatants that has bolstered its defensive capabilities.

PN spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad was referring to the commissioning of the two Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigates and Acero-class fast-attack interdiction craft last year.

He said acquisition of these naval vessels showcases the PN’s ongoing fleet expansion.

Trinidad earlier said the arrival of the Miguel Malvar-class frigates in PN service will add to the “capital ships of the Navy that (are) capable of patrolling all the way up to our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and even beyond.”

He said these vessels are the most modern in the PN to date. The BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-06) was commissioned last May 20 along with the BRP Albert Majini (PG-909) at Naval Operating Base Subic in Zambales.

Commissioning of these two ships coincided with the PN’s 127th founding anniversary.

Meanwhile, the BRP Diego Silang (FFG-07) was commissioned in the facility on Dec. 2 last year.

The Miguel Malvar-class guided-missile frigate weighs 3,200 gross tons and it is armed with a 76mm Oto Melara main gun, C-Star-surface-to-surface missiles and Blue Shark anti-submarine torpedoes. It is capable of speeds up to 28 knots.

It is also the first ship class in the PN to be equipped with a vertical launch system (VLS) capable of firing surface-to-air missiles that can neutralize air threats. VLS is an advanced system for storing and firing missiles aboard naval vessels.

The VLS system mounted in the BRP Miguel Malvar and BRP Diego Silang has 16 tubes and is optimized for surface-to-air engagements.

The Department of National Defense, then under Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) signed the PHP28-billion contract for the Miguel Malvar-class guided-missile frigates on Dec. 28, 2021.

The ships were acquired from HD HHI like its predecessor, the two Jose Rizal-class guided missile frigates that were delivered and commissioned in 2020 and 2021.

Meanwhile, BRP Albert Majini, the eighth Acero-class FAIC-M, is the first locally assembled missile-capable patrol vessel in the country. It is part of a nine-ship order from Israel Shipyards Ltd; the contract was signed in February 2021.

These ships weigh around 95 gross tons and have a speed of 40 knots and are armed with automatic cannons and machine guns. Four out the eight ships in service are armed with the Spike NLOS (Non-Line-of-Sight) missiles.

Named after Medal of Valor awardee Ensign Albert Majini, the ship honors his gallantry during anti-piracy operations in Basilan in 1980.

BRP Albert Majini is built for rapid interdiction and coastal operations under the PN’s Littoral Combat Force. (PNA)

Top 📸: Ang Pahayagan photo files