Aside from improving the transport and logistics capability
of the Philippine Navy (PN), the two strategic sea-lift vessels (SSVs) can also
serve as command-and-control platforms or floating government centers during
national emergencies.
This was disclosed by PN flag-officer-in-command Vice
Admiral Jesus C. Millan in a message to the PNA.
"(These ships can also be converted into) floating
hospitals or evacuation centers," he added.
The first SSV had its steel-cutting ceremony last Jan. 22 and
is slated for delivery in May 2016.
While the second SSV had its steel-cutting last June 6 and
is scheduled for delivery in May 2017.
Both ships are being constructed by PT PAL (Persero), an
Indonesian shipbuilder, at its Surabaya
facility.
"The two SSVs will be a big boost to our transport
capability once they will be phased-in/commissioned to our inventory. The SSVs
will address our gaps on troop transport support for internal security and they
could also improve our humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities
as these vessels are multi-role platforms," Millan stated.
The Philippines
has a two-SSV order with Persero for Php3,870,000,000 which is sourced from the
AFP Modernization Fund.
The strategic sealift acquisition project for the PN was
initiated upon the approval of Acquisition Decision Memorandum Number 2012-060
by the Secretary of National Defense last Oct. 30, 2013.
The Department of National Defense declared Persero as the
Single Calculated Responsive Bidder with a bidding price of Php3,870,000,000 on
Nov. 18, 2014.
The SSVs are programmed to be the PN’s floating command
center carrying out their main purpose as military sealift and transport
vessels and also for humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Further, these vessels are critical assets for
civil-military operations due to their capability of transporting large number
of soldiers, logistics, and supplies.
Moreover, each SSV has the capacity to house three
helicopters. The Navy’s Augusta Westland-109s are programmed to be on-board
components of these vessels.
These forthcoming landing platform dock strategic sealift
vessels will improve the transport capability of the PN and boost the defense
capabilities of the country.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=771290
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