The Philippine Navy (PN) is undergoing a period of modernisation quite unlike anything it has previously experienced thanks to the arrival of new vessels in coming years.
New ships are mostly replacing older vessels, but new capabilities are being added too as laid out in the Philippine Navy Sail Plan and Active Archipelagic Defense Strategy. The PN contains approximately 23,000 sailors and marines, plus around 1,000 civilians.
The most capable platform will be two 2,000t frigates set to be constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea. These will be the PN’s first brand new frigates and the navy’s most advanced warships ever.
One PN official told Shephard that this contract should be signed in October. These frigates will operate with Leonardo AW159 Wildcat anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, two of which will reach the Philippines in September 2018.
‘We’re looking forward to receiving these new assets. You can see the young officers looking forward to it. They’re a symbol of our modernisation,’ the spokesperson said.
Strategic Sealift Vessels (SSV) are another important platform since they can be used for amphibious operations, command and control, and disaster relief. The first, BRP Tarlac, was commissioned in June, while the second vessel is due on 14 May 2017.
Launched by PT PAL on 29 September about two months ahead of schedule, the future BRP Davao del Sur SSV could be delivered early to the Philippines. Under Horizon 2 of the Navy Long-Term Capability Plan covering 2018-22, the PN wants three additional SSVs and it has an option for two from PT PAL already.
The renewed focus of the Armed Forces of the Philippines currently is to finish off the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). The spokesperson said this means new requirements for fast interdiction boats less than 12m long. These would operate with SSVs as motherships to create cordons and restrict the manoeuvre space of the ASG.
The PN is currently in the research determination phase of this requirement that is being fast tracked.
Other new assets will bolster the PN too, with a number of acquisitions already in the pipeline and set to be realised in coming years.
VAdm Caesar C. Taccad, flag officer in charge of the navy, told Shephard, ‘The PN is also set to receive this November its third Hamilton-class cutter from the US. Aside from these, the PN will have in its inventory a Pohang-class corvette, frigates, amphibious assault vehicles and missile-capable multipurpose attack craft (MPAC).’
Three MPACs being built by Propmech in conjunction with Lung Teh of Taiwan are supposed to be finished by April next year, but Shephard understands these may be delayed till June because of challenges in integrating onto the hulls the Mini-Typhoon mount that carries a machine gun and Spike-ER missiles.
The PN wants 25 additional missile-capable fast attack craft under Horizon 2 (2018-22), and at ADAS 2016 Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) was promoting its Super Dvora Mk III design.
As Taccad mentioned, the Philippine Marine Corps is to receive eight AAV7A1 amphibious assault vehicles from Hanwha Techwin in South Korea. Four will arrive in August 2018 and four more in December.
More frigates (x2), corvettes (x6), an auxiliary vessel, maritime patrol aircraft (x5), a mine countermeasure vessel, LCUs (x6), 16 further AAV7A1s, ASW helicopters (x2), medium-lift helicopters (x10) and close air support helicopters (x2) are all on the cards for the navy under the Horizon 2 modernisation plan.
Looking even further into the distance, the PN is eyeing submarines. A submarine group has been set up within the PN fleet to look at requirement analysis. Interestingly, Saab, Thyssen Krupp and DCNS had representatives at ADAS promoting their submarine designs.
https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/imps-news/adas-2016-philippine-navy-charts-modern-course/
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