Author: Yuri will not take revenge today. Reprinting without permission is prohibited.
In recent years, Southeast Asian navies have also been expanding their forces aggressively. Compared with Vietnam , Thailand, Malaysia and other countries, Philippines with limited economic strength started a little later. However, in recent years, they have bought 10 new ships in three times and 6 new offshore ships. The patrol vessel (OPV) contract was awarded just two days ago. These warships are all made in South Korea.
According to a report on the "Navy News" website on the 27th, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) signed a contract with the Philippine Department of Defense on the same day to build six new 2,400-ton offshore patrol vessels (OPV) worth US$573 million. Compared with the previous order from Hyundai Heavy Industries Two batches of four "José Rizal" class missile frigates will be used for low-intensity combat tasks such as daily patrols, fishery protection, and inspections. In the future, they may also "frequently" work with our maritime law enforcement forces. A kind of battleship that is "face to face".
Picture: Philippine new OPV imagination
The new patrol ship has a displacement of 2,400 tons, a length of 94.4 meters, a width of 14.3 meters, a maximum speed of 22 knots, a cruising speed of 15 knots, and a range of 5,500 nautical miles. It is powered by a diesel engine. Its main weapon is a 76mm bow door. With a main gun, two 30mm secondary guns, and a helicopter deck capable of operating helicopters and drones, these warships will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan Shipyard. The last one will be delivered in 2028, with a unit price of less than US$100 million. It is considered a patrol ship of similar tonnage. "market price".
Picture: "José Rizal" class No. 2 ship "Antonio Luna"
In 2016 and 2019, the Philippines ordered the country's most powerful warship in history from Hyundai Heavy Industries twice - "Jose" ·Rizal” class guided missile frigate. This kind of frigate has a displacement of 3,200 tons. In a sense, it is the "monkey version" of the "Incheon" class (FFX batch 2) used by the Korean Navy. Its power mainly uses Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines. The diesel power was replaced by the cheap full diesel power , with a maximum speed of 25 knots and a range of 4,500 nautical miles.
Picture: "Jose Rizal", the platform behind the gun is not equipped with vertical launcher
In terms of weapons and ship electrical equipment, the "José Rizal" class is relatively simple. Its main mast has a German-made TRS-3D multi-function rotating AESA radar, a 76mm main gun at the bow, and a 16-unit vertical launch system reserved at the rear but not actually installed. The sea attack relies on 8 Korean-made SSMs. -700K "Starfish" anti-ship missile (similar to " Harpoon "). The existing air defense weapon is the "Mistral-Sinbad RC" short-range ship-to-air missile launcher above the helicopter hangar, and one can be carried on the stern of the ship. AW159 "Wildcat" carrier-based helicopters, and 2 sets of 3-unit Korean-made K745 "Black Shark" light torpedoes as anti-submarine weapons. The unit price of the "José Rizal" class is less than 200 million U.S. dollars, and the two ships have been Delivery in 2020 and 2021.
Picture: On both sides of the helicopter hangar are the "Mistral-Sinbad RC" short-range ship-to-air missile launchers
It is worth mentioning that for customers like the Philippines, South Korea has adopted a "half-sale, half-free" strategy. While selling new ships to the country, they gave away a second-hand "Pohang" class light frigate to the Philippine Navy in 2019 for free. This kind of frigate has also been given to potential users such as Peru in recent years. In addition, , the Philippines is also a customer of the FA-50 "Golden Eagle" higher education/light fighter made in South Korea, which shows that South Korea is very concerned about it.
Picture: Second-hand "Pohang" class frigate
As the "little brother" of the United States, the Philippines is a mainly agricultural country with a not very good economy and has been unable to support their maritime ambitions for a long time.
The Philippine Navy has been dominated by second-hand antique warships from the United States for many years. The oldest warship in service is actually an American minesweeper that was in service in 1944. This ship was built during the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975. Fleeing to the Philippines, before ordering new ships from South Korea, the Philippine Navy obtained three "Hamilton"-class coast guard patrol ships from the United States that were in service in the late 1960s and were nearly 60 years old.
Picture: This 78-year-old antique ship is called the "Cebu"
It is worth noting that in the international market, warships made in South Korea are increasingly becoming our potential rivals, with relatively low costs. The almost unlimited access to European and American radars and weapons, which even poor countries like the Philippines can afford, has touched the hearts of many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
