While waiting for the delivery of its two brand-new frigates worth P18-billion, the Department of National Defense (DND) announced that plans are underway to upgrade the two Hamilton-class cutters in Philippine Navy (PN) service.
This was revealed by DND undersecretary for finance, modernization, installation, and munitions, Fernando Manalo Friday.
"While waiting for these ships to be constructed and delivered, we may upgrade our Hamilton-class cutters (to make them more capable of protecting the country's vast maritime territories)," he added.
The two new frigates are expected to be delivered in four years time upon announcement of a winning bidder.
But the DND official declined to comment on what upgrades the two ships will get for reasons of operational security.
The PN currently operates two Hamilton-class cutters in its fleet.
These are the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16).
The ship has cruising range of 14,000 miles and has a sea and loiter time of 45 days. It has a complement of 167 officers and men.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=573094
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