Philippines to Equip Helicopters on Warships Received from Hyundai Heavy Industries

[Researcher Lee Jae-myung, Underwater Maritime Research Team 3, Defense Technology Quality Institute] The Philippine Navy has commissioned its first Jose Rizal-class frigate. The BRP Jose Rizal (150), built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, was launched in May last year and held its handover, naming, and commissioning ceremonies on the 10th at the Alava Pier in Subic Bay.

This frigate is the first of two vessels ordered by Hyundai Heavy Industries under a $337 million contract signed in 2016, based on the multipurpose HDF-3000 design.

It has a displacement of 2,600 tons, an overall length of 107.5 meters, a beam of 13 meters, a hull draft of 6.9 meters, and a crew complement of 65. Powered by four diesel engines in a Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) propulsion system, it can reach a top speed of 25 knots and has a range of 4,500 nautical miles at 15 knots.

The main armament includes a 76mm naval gun, and at the rear, it is equipped with one 30mm SMASH remote-controlled stabilized gun system manufactured by Turkey’s Aselsan. Additionally, two SIMBAD-RC launcher turrets are planned to be installed, one on each port and starboard side. The frigate is designed to accommodate one vertical launch system (VLS) at the front, although it is currently not installed.

The flight deck can accommodate Leonardo’s AW159 Lynx Wildcat anti-submarine helicopter, but operational tests using the flight deck have not yet been conducted. Instead, during the RIMPAC naval exercises led by the U.S. Navy in August, an AW109 multipurpose helicopter is scheduled to be deployed. The ship will depart the Philippines at the end of July to move to Hawaii, where the exercises will take place.

Meanwhile, the BRP Jose Rizal (150) is the second missile-capable vessel in the Philippine Navy’s fleet. The first missile-launching vessel owned by the Philippine Navy is the Multipurpose Attack Craft (MPAC), of which three are capable of firing Spike Extended Range (ER) anti-ship missiles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.