The Philippine Navy will commission its second offshore patrol vessel, the prospective BRP Rajah Lakandula (PS-21), on May 29 as part of the service’s 128th anniversary celebration, a senior naval official said Wednesday.
Philippine Fleet commander Rear Admiral Joe Anthony Orbe said the commissioning ceremony will be led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“The second OPV, as I mentioned earlier, will be commissioned on May 29 during the Navy Day 128th anniversary celebration by no less than our Commander-in-Chief PBBM,” Orbe said during a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The future BRP Rajah Lakandula is the sister ship of BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20), the first offshore patrol vessel commissioned in February. The vessel arrived at Naval Operating Base Subic in Zambales on May 8, four days after departing South Korea.
Orbe said the remaining four offshore patrol vessels, part of the six ordered from South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, are scheduled for delivery through 2028.
The P30-billion contract for the six vessels was signed on June 27, 2022.
“The four will be arriving until 2028. Initially, the schedule was two per year starting 2026 so the sixth will be delivered in 2028,” Orbe said.
The offshore patrol vessels measure 94.4 meters long and 14.3 meters wide, with a displacement of 2,400 tons, a maximum speed of 22 knots, a cruising speed of 15 knots, and a range of 5,500 nautical miles.
Orbe said the new vessels would significantly enhance the Philippine Fleet’s capability to conduct patrols in the West Philippine Sea.
“This is a big boost to the Philippine Fleet’s ability to support the Philippine Navy mission to put more platforms at sea at any one time. We have a very huge maritime zone. This is a big leap, a big boost to our capability,” he said.
At the same briefing, Naval Air Warfare Training and Doctrine Center 50 head Captain Ariel Joseph Coloma said the Philippine Navy expects six additional AW-159 “Wildcat” anti-submarine warfare helicopters to join the fleet within the next four to five years.
Coloma said the two AW-159 helicopters currently in service have already been operationalized and deployed in several missions and exercises nationwide.
He added that the “Wildcat” helicopters can detect, identify, and neutralize subsurface targets.
