The Philippine Navy’s BRP Jose Rizal will take part in the Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC Exercise scheduled next month, Vice Admiral Giovanni Bacordo said Thursday.
“We will first join the RIMPAC 2020 this August 17 to 31, then later on it is going to be a strategic asset, which means she will only be deployed when necessary,” Bacordo told reporters.
“The ship will leave by July 29. She will leave for Guam and then Hawaii to join RIMPAC 2020.”
BRP Jose Rizal, the country’s first missile-frigate, and its crew will use the two-week (RIMPAC exercises as its “shakedown cruise,” where its performance will be tested.
“We can say it as part of the shakedown cruise where we can test the seaworthiness and performance of the FF-150 while the ship is still under warranty,” Philippine Navy public affairs office chief Lt. Commander Maria Christina Roxas said in a message late Wednesday when asked why the ship was selected to participate in the exercises.
A shakedown cruise allows the crew to familiarize themselves aboard a new vessel and to ensure all of the ship’s systems are functional.
RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime exercise. This year’s exercise will be sponsored by the US Navy. The biennial maritime exercise will be an at-sea-only event in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Pacific Fleet said this year’s exercise would include multinational anti-submarine warfare, maritime intercept operations and live-fire training events, among other cooperative training opportunities.
BRP Jose Rizal has a crew of 65 and is commanded by Captain Jerry Garrido. It is scheduled to depart the country by July 29 to participate in the biennial maneuvers.
