From the Manila Bulletin (Ape 25, 2023): Balikatan main event: PH, US militaries to sink mock vessel in Zambales (By MARTIN SADONGDONG)
AT A GLANCE- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Armed Forces will fire at and sink a decommissioned vessel of the Philippine Navy (PN) in Zambales on Wednesday, April 25, as part of the combined joint littoral live fire exercise of the ongoing Balikatan drills.
- The sinking of BRP Pangasinan (PS-31), a former PN corvette, is considered as the highlight of the Balikatan, which will conclude on April 28. This year saw the largest iteration of the joint exercise between the Philippines and America’s militaries with around 17,600 participating troops.
(San Antonio, Zambales / Image courtesy of Google Earth)
The sinking of BRP Pangasinan (PS-31), a World War II-era corvette, is considered as the main event of the Balikatan and the live fire exercise.
This year saw the largest iteration of the Balikatan exercise between the Philippines and America’s militaries with around 17,600 participating troops. The war games will conclude on April 28.
An advisory shared to the media by the Philippine Army (PA) showed that the combined joint littoral live fire exercise highlighted by the sinking of a mock vessel, a first for Balikatan, will take place at the Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui approximately 12 nautical miles (22 kms) off San Antonio town's coastal waters near the West Philippine Sea (WPS), which is well within the country's territorial waters.
The BRP Pangasinan, which was decommissioned in 2021, will be treated as an adversarial vessel and targeted by navy ships to hone the interoperability of the AFP and US Armed Forces in neutralizing threats at sea, according to Col. Xerxes Trinidad, PA spokesperson.
"The combined and joint littoral live fire exercise in San Antonio, Zambales on 26 April 2023 is the main event of this year's iteration of Exercise Balikatan," Trinidad told the Manila Bulletin.
"Filipino and American soldiers, during the said exercise, will test their combined and joint tactics, techniques and procedures in the execution of coastal defense," he noted.
For the PA, a total of 234 personnel from the Armor Division, Artillery Regiment, and the Aviation Regiment will participate in the combined and joint live fire exercise.
The troops will also fire their High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a rocket launcher mounted on a truck which can be used to hit distant targets with precision and power, during the drill.
The live fire exercise serves as an opportunity for the Filipino troops to learn how to operate the advanced weapons system which could be an integral part of the military's future arsenal, Trinidad emphasized.
"The said exercise reinforces the Philippine Army's thrust to gradually shift from internal security to territorial defense operations," he stated.
Air assault, live fire demo
Ahead of the Balikatan highlight, the AFP and US Armed Forces held a live fire demonstration using three American missile defense systems also in San Antonio, Zambales.
The live fire demonstration of the Patriot, Avenger, and Stinger was held at the Naval Education Training and Doctrine Command (NETDC) headquarters on Tuesday, April 25.
The Filipino troops witnessed the firing of the Patriot, a surface-to-air missile system; Avenger, which is a surface-to-air missile and gun weapon system; and Stinger, a man-portable air-defense system during the demonstration.
(Participating soldiers alight a Black Hawk helicopter during the air assault operations of the Exercise Balikatan at the PAredes Air Station in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte on April 23, 2023. Photo by Philippine Army)
Meanwhile, PA soldiers and their counterparts from the US Army, US Marine Corps, and Australian Defence Force conducted Balikatan air assault operations in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte on April 23.
Eighty-one soldiers from the PA’s 99th Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Division together with U.S. Army and Royal Australian Army soldiers conducted the air assault operations at the Paredes Air Station using a Black Hawk helicopter.
During an air assault operation, ground-based military forces hold vertical take-off and landing using an aircraft to seize and hold key terrain, and to directly engage enemy forces.
“Participating troops also conducted defensive operations in the area during the exercise,” Trinidad said.
https://mb.com.ph/2023/4/24/balikatan-main-event-ph-us-militaries-to-sink-mock-vessel-in-zambales-1
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