FF-150 it is! Future BRP Jose Rizal shows its hull number...and TASS concerns

Note: this is a MaxDefense shortblog. thus the length of the entry. 

A lot of things have happened since MaxDefense made an exclusive post in our Facebook community page last 25 January 2019 on what the ship's name (which automatically names the class name) and pennant number of the first new frigate being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in their yard in Ulsan, South Korea.

This was based on a photo of the frigate Jose Rizal as of April 2019. In this photo, the pennant number pained in the hull is not yet there. Photo exclusively shared to MaxDefense by source.

Many did not believe what we reported and confirmed,until the Secretary of National Defense (SND) himself announcement later on that the first ship HHI is constructing (internally labelled as "P159" by HHI and PN in their project name), is to be named "Jose Rizal" (the "BRP" will be added once the ship is commissioned officially to the Philippine Navy). 

But so far, none even from the DND and the PN have confirmed our previous announcement that the ship's hull/pennant number will be "FF-150" for the first ship, and "FF-151" for the second frigate which will be named "Antonio Luna". 

Now that HHI has finally painted the ship's hull as the ship's launching comes near, it is very clear now if what we previously announced was right or wrong.

See for yourself.

As the launching date for the HHI-built frigate Jose Rizal is nearing, the ship is finally getting clearer, including its hull/pennant number. 

It should be noted that based on the latest Philippine Navy ship classification standard which was revised on April 2016, frigates in the Philippine Navy will have the prefix "FF". So in this case, the future BRP Jose Rizal will have the pennant number FF-150.

The Main Concern:

With the stern of the ship now visible, MaxDefense raises this question to the Philippine Navy: if the Towed Array Sonar System (TASS) is a Fitted for But Not With (FFBNW) subsystem for the Jose Rizal-class frigates, then why is the stern of the ship so clean, without even an opening provided for the use of a TASS in the future? Based on previous documents from the Philippine Navy, the original Technical Working Group (TWG) selected the Thales CAPTAS-2 towed array sonar system, and is actually looking at the newer and smaller CAPTAS-4 as an alternative.

Edit: we'll replace the photo of the Incheon-class frigate's stern since there are some quarters making noise that the ship doesn't have TASS. Anyway...

Warships with openings for Towed Array Sonar, in this case, specifically using the Thales CAPTAS family which have large tow bodies that require large holes in the stern. Top photo shows the smaller CAPTAS-4 in the Bergamini-class, and bottom photo shows the larger and older CAPTAS-2 system in a Royal Navy warship.
Credits to owners/sources of the photos.

In fact, the Philippine Navy even included in its Technical Specs that the frigate shall have space and power provision for a Towed Array Sonar, even indicating the size of the projector towed body for the shipbuilder to consider. The size provided actually was based on the Thales CAPTAS-2's towed body.

Photo taken from Supplementary Bid Bulletin DND/PN-FAP-16-01 dated 02 February 2016, months before the bidding date. Document from DND website.

Here's more evidence: this came from a section plan of the frigate. It shows that there is no room for a TASS below the helicopter deck, and instead the space is for Steering Gear Emeregency Steering Room. 

No TASS space below the helicopter deck just behind the stern. This came from HHI's own drawing of the frigate.
Photo exclusively shared by a MaxDefense contributor who saw our discussions.

The ship's launching is approaching fast, which is expected to be sometime between 17-19 May 2019. MaxDefense will make the final confirmation soon, as everything can still change depending on the availability of DND officials to grace the event in South Korea, or depending on circumstances in HHI's yard.