MANILA, Philippines - Defense spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez
announced on Friday that one of the frigates to be acquired by the
Philippines will have "surface-to-air" capabilities. That is, the ship
will have the capability to fire missiles, guided by radar or heat
sensors, at airborne targets.
"Aside from this, our latest frigate will have heavier gun armament
and other equipment that will make it very effective in patrolling and
securing the country's waters," Galvez said in Filipino.
He declined to state the particular country the Philippines will
acquire this ship but stressed that acquisition will be done through a
government-to-government transaction.
The Philippines has taken on a new sense of urgency to upgrade its
naval capabilities as tensions continue to rise around the West
Philippine Sea (South China Sea). US President Barack Obama's announced
"pivot" for America towards the Pacific has stirred greater naval
activity on the part of China, triggering cross-border problems between
the Asian superpower and the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea,
and Russia across the East and South China Seas. Against this backdrop,
the Philippine Navy has been exposed to be glaringly ill-equipped to
patrol and protect its own shores.
Earlier, DND Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the military wants to acquire additional naval craft from Italy.
"We are not relying totally on the United States (for) our equipment
acquisitions. We are also looking at the possibility of getting some of
our equipment from Europe, specifically from Italy, depending on our
budget," he added.
Possible naval craft to be acquired from Italy by the Philippines are the "Maestrale" and "Soldati" classes.
The "Maestrale" class, operated by the Italian Navy, is primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare.
However the vessels are highly flexible so they are also capable of anti-air and anti-surface operations.
It has a displacement of 3,300 gross register tons and a speed of 33 knots.
The ship is armed with anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, long range guns
and automatic weapons, making it ideal to protect the country's
maritime borders against poachers, pirates and foreign aggressors.
The "Soldati" class, on the other hand, is a multi-purpose warship designed for anti-surface warfare.
It has a displacement of 2,500 gross register tons and has a top speed of 35 knots.
The ship has missile, torpedo and gun armament and is capable of carrying an anti-submarine helicopter.
Asian Defence News
Philippine Navy should also consider acquiring at least 2 units of brand new F100 Bazan Frigate from Spain, 3 to 4 units of US Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigates, 1 or 2 units of DDG 51 Arleigh Burke Destroyer, 1 or 2 units of Sweden submarines, several Seahawk helicopters, 12 to 18 units of Apache AH64 attack helicopter, and 12 units of F-35c and 24 units of TA-50/FA-50 fighter jets from South Korea.
ReplyDeleteFor Philippine Coast Guard, (aside for the third Hamilton Class Cutter) additional 2 to 3 units of New Class Cutter Bertholf would be a good acquisition to patrol the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zones like the Spratlys, Bajo de Masinloc and Benham Rise. I am sure China will stop bullying us once we have all these defense assets in placed.
Perhaps, the Philippine Government can lease some of the air and naval defense (including the brand new coast guard cutters)for 2 to 3 years and then buy them eventually.
God bless the Philippines, God bless the Philippines leaders, God bless the Philippines National Defense forces.