With the arrival of its Hamilton-class cutter, BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) and three of the five AgustaWestland AW-109 "Power" helicopters, and signing and bidding of major ship contracts, the modernization of the Philippine Navy (PN), the force mandated to protect the country's vast maritime domains, is going on a good clip.
Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic said they are very excited with the way things are going for the PN which for decades has sadly lagged behind its other Southeast Asian counterparts.
But with the arrival of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz last Aug. 6, after a two-month voyage from the United States, and commissioning last Nov. 22 and delivery of the three AW-109s last Dec. 8, Fabic said that the maritime domain awareness capability of the PN was greatly boosted.
Contract for the naval helicopters were signed last Dec. 20, 2012.
The arrival of these assets also ensures that BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15), the country's first Hamilton-class cutter, will no longer have to do maritime sovereignty patrols in the
The ability of the PN to protect the country's vast waters will be greatly increased once the combat versions of the AW-109s, the last two of the five ordered for P1.33 billion for AgustaWestland, arrives in the third quarter of 2014.
Last Dec. 12, BRP Ramon Alcaraz, after her three-week relief mission off "Yolanda" battered
This military unit is tasked to protect Palawan's vast maritime areas which includes parts of the Kalayaan Island Group and the
The arrival of BRP Ramon Alcaraz ensures constant naval monitoring and surveillance of fish and energy rich territory.
"2013 was a very good year for the PN, we are hoping that the coming year (2014) will also be a good one for us," he added.
Aside from this, another good thing that happened for the Navy this 2013, was that the contract for the PN's P4-billion "strategic sealift vessel" (SSVs) was finally awarded to PT PAL
The latter company won after offering a bid price offer of P3,863,999,520.
The two-ship project is expected to be completed within two years.
"The SSV is an integral part of the PN's Service Force (logistic) and is needed to accomplish the Navy's missions in different areas," Fabic earlier said.
The ships are estimated to weigh around 7,300 gross register tons and capable of transporting at least a battalion of troops (500 men) and their equipment.
The SSVs will be also used to improve the PN's transport and lift capabilities.
These missions are needed especially in times of natural disaster of which the Navy is one of the responders, as proven during the aftermath of super typhoon "Yolanda" where the PN deployed around 30 ships to help in the ongoing disaster and relief efforts.
The ships are capable of acting as mini-helicopter carriers as it is capable of carrying two helicopters at its flight deck and another at its enclosed hangar area.
Another welcome development for the Navy this year is the bidding for its two-brand new frigates has finally gotten off the ground.
First stage bidding was conducted last Oct. 25 and of this posting, around four firms have qualified for the program which is worth P18 billion.
Navantia Sepi (RTR Ventures) of
The second stage of the bidding will involve the opening of financial proposals and technical documents. This phase will determine if the bidders’ offers are well within the approved budget of P18-billion and if their goods are in line with the specifications provided in the bid documents. The second phase of the bidding will be held this month.
The Department of National Defense (DND) decided to conduct a two-stage competitive bidding due to the technical and detailed nature of the project.
The winning bidder is required to deliver the ships within four years from the opening of a letter of credit, a document that assures the supplier that the government will honor its financial obligations.
And should it come into fruition, the two ships will be the most heavily armed vessels in PN service.
Technical specifications obtained by MaxDefense:
-76mm gun at forward section with target tracking radar and/or electro-optical target acquisition and fire control computer;
-one stabilized secondary gun;
-four .50-caliber machine guns;
-primary and secondary guns shall be integrated to combat management system;
four surface-to-surface missile launchers, minimum 50km range, active homing seeker and ECCM capability;
-surface-to-air missile launching system, minimum quadruple launcher, minimum 6km range, IR or semi-active homing seeker, with ECCM and/or IR CCM capability;
-anti-submarine torpedoes, minimum range 2km, minimum depth 500m, with acoustic countermeasures capability, two triple launchers (one on each side).
With these armaments, the ships will capable of engaging any aerial, surface and sub-surface threats that may intrude in Philippine territory.
At present, the most potent weapon system in PN service is the 76mm Oto Melara main gun and Mark 38 Model 2 25mm "Bushmaster" auto-cannon fitted in the Gregorio Del Pilar class frigates and Emilio Jacinto class patrol vessels.
Earlier, PN Patrol Force head Commodore Jose Renan C. Suarez said that the two frigates will be the most capable yet in Philippine service due to its capability to detect and engage airborne, surface and underwater threats simultaneously.
Suarez said that these ships are part of the PN's "Navy Frigate Program" which has a timeline of 2013 to 2017.
He added that these ships are designed with numerous upgrades cycle to ensure that they will remain relevant and competitive against new vessels coming in line.
Suarez said that these ships will greatly enhanced PN's capabilities to defend the country's vast maritime territories.
Aside from this, other items in the process of bidding for Navy include three more multi-purpose attack crafts of which six to nine are already in service and the so-called "Marines Forces Imagery and Targeting Support System Acquisition Project" (MITSS) for the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) which is worth P684,230,000.
This aims to improve the surveillance, monitoring and targeting capability of three brigades that makes up the PMC.
Funds for the MITSS will be sourced through the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.
Interested bidders are required to supply one MITSS to each of the three brigade of the PMC.
Each MITSS consist of two small unmanned aerial vehicles, three target acquisition devices, and four kits of tactical sensor integration support system.
Aside from this, an integrated logistic support system and one training MITSS manual.
Interested parties are required to complete a similar project within the last five years.
Pre-bid conference is scheduled on Dec. 16 at the DND bidding awards committee conference room, right wing, basement, DND building, Camp Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Bid opening is on Jan. 6, 2014. Bid documents can be acquired for P75,000.
Aside from getting new equipment to boost up its capabilities, plans are also afoot to upgrade the existing ships of the fleet.
The DND earlier announced that it is allocating P216 million to modernize the BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS-37), one of the three Jacinto Class Patrol Vessels (JCPV), in its service.
The latter are the Peacock patrol ships acquired from the United Kingdom in Aug. 1, 1997.
The money will be used to update the marine engineering upgrade of the above-mentioned ship.
The latter refers to to the development, design, operation and maintenance of watercraft propulsion and on-board systems; e.g. power and propulsion plants, machinery, piping, automation and control systems for marine vehicles.
This is phase of the JCPV upgrade with Phase 1 being the installation of the new Raytheon gyro compass, Sperry Marine Naval BridgeMaster E Series Surface Search Radar, GPS, anemometer, and EM logs.
These were integrated with the ship's existing systems. The Phase 1 upgrade was completed in 2005.
The DND said that interested parties must have completed a similar project within the last five years.
It added that winning bidders must be able to deliver the goods or required service within 180 calendar working days upon the opening of the letter of credit.
Besides this, plans are also in the works to place the two Gregorio Del Pilar class frigates of the PN under the so-called "service life extension programs" (SLEP).
The latter refers to the systematic upgrades to the warship's power-plant, navigation, weapons system, communication, and hull.
This has the effect of making the ship serviceable for much longer period of time.
Fabic said that the two Gregorio Del Pilar frigates in Philippine service, BRP Gregorio Del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz will made to undergo SLEP upon serving the Navy a specified number of years.
The upgrades will make the ship at par with other modern vessels being fielded by other navies.
SLEP will also ensure that the PN will have these ships in service much longer.
It is also a cheaper alternative.
Fabic added that ships constructed during the 1960s up to present are easily upgradeable due to their modular construction.
The two Gregorio Del Pilar frigates in PN service had their keels laid up during the early part of the 1960s.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=597172
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