Philippine Navy to Receive 3 More Missile-Ready Multi-Purpose Attack Crafts under Horizon 1 Phase

The Philippine Navy (PN) has quietly moved ahead and implemented the acquisition of another project under the Horizon 1 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program.

Based on the Philippine Navy's recent publicly-released documents, as well as confirmation from MaxDefense source, the Philippine Navy has pushed through with the Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (Series 2018) acquisition project, which is a "2nd List of Horizon 1" project that was approved for acquisition.

The MPAC Mk. III built by Propmech-Lung Teh JV. The same design, with probably minor changes, will be used for the 4th batch of MPACs to be acquired by the Philippine Navy.
Photo provided by MaxDefense source.

Another Horizon 1 MPAC?
To avoid confusion, here is how it goes:

The Philippine Navy's Horizon 1 phase, which was approved for implementation in 2014, previously had a Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) Acquisition Project with an Approved Budget for Contract (ABC) worth Php270 million. This was also called the "MPAC 3" during its pre-delivery phase. This was awarded to a Joint Venture of Propmech Corporation and Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. The former is a Filipino-owned company while the latter is a boatbuilder from Taiwan.

The boats acquired from this project, now known as the MPAC Mk. III Series 2014 (specifically the BA-488, BA-489, and BA-491) were delivered mid 2017, and are now being installed with weapon systems acquired from Rafael Advance Systems Ltd. of Israel as they are scheduled to conduct the Philippine Navy's first ever test firing of a surface-to-surface missile this coming July, as revealed by PN FOIC VAdm. Robert Empedrad recently.

Now...

This project we are discussing is part of the Philippine Navy's "2nd List of Horizon 1", an extension program of the Horizon 1 phase that was approved for implementation only in early 2016, has an acquisition project for another batch of MPACs. The Philippine Navy, based on new bid documents, appears to call this project the MPAC Mk. III Series 2018, to differentiate it from the MPAC Mk. III Series 2014 project. For convenience, let's call it as how the PN does, although MaxDefense expects the term "MPAC 4" to be used as well.

This project has an ABC of Php270 million (similar to all other MPAC acquisition projects), and involves the acquisition of three (3) brand new MPACs that can be armed with missile systems similar to those of MPAC Mk. III Series 2014.

It was only several weeks ago that MaxDefense was able to confirmed who led the tender for the MPAC4 contract, which is the Joint Venture of Propmech Corporation and Lung Teh Shipbuilding. The Department of National Defense (DND) has yet to complete Post Qualification Inspection on Propmech-Lung Teh, but based on the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) made by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) under SARO-BMB-D-17-0024343 approved on 15 December 2017, the value is expected to be at Php269,799,999.99. This amount was released on 18 December 2017 based on the DBM's SARO release records.

One of the MPAC Mk. III Series 2014, BA-488, as seen here in 2017 undergoing tests before delivery to the Philippine Navy. The same design will be used for the MPAC Mk. III Series 2018, wherein 3 units will be delivered.
Photo provided by MaxDefense source..

The MPAC Mk. III Series 2018:

With this MPAC Mk. III Series 2018 already established, let's go further into details.

MaxDefense received information, as well as support from released documents from DND website that this 4th batch of 3 new MPACs will be using the same design as the MPAC Mk. III delivered by Propmech-Lung Teh last year, with probably only minor changes as specified by the Philippine Navy

This would make it easy for both Propmech-Lung Teh JV and the Philippine Navy to get this project out the drawing board and into design final approval since there won't be a need for a major redesigning like what happened on earlier MPAC projects where MPAC Mk. I differs in design from MPAC Mk. II, which also differs in design and purpose as the MPAC Mk. III.

While this contract only includes the boats itself, there is a separate project called the MPAC Combat Systems and Capability Upgrade, which is divided into 2 lots with a total combined approved budget of contract (ABC) worth Php722,000,000.00. The said budget was confirmed through SARO released by DBM in June 2018. And this is among the HORIZON 2 projects recently approved by Pres. Duterte for implementation.

As straightforward as the title of the project, it was meant to provide the MPAC Mk III. Series 2018 with weapon systems and capability enhancements. The same case happened on the MPAC Batch 3 aka MPAC Mk. III Series 2014 where the boats (awarded to Promech-Lung Teh JV) were acquired separately from the weapons system (awarded to Rafael Advance Systems).

Propmech - Lung Teh Joint Venture previously won the bidding to supply the MPAC acquisition under Horizon 1 phase. The end result is the MPAC Mk. III Series 2014, which were delivered in 2017. They are currently being installed with the weapon systems from Rafael, and will test fire a Spike-ER missile this July 2018.
Photo provided by a MaxDefense source.

The MPAC Mk. III Series 2018, like its earlier counter-part, was designed primarily as a small missile-armed patrol boat, rather than as an assault boat. It lacks the front opening bow and ramp that allows easy egress and ingress of troops, and will have less passenger capacity due to the presence of a control system for the weapon systems.

The MPAC Mk. III Series 2018 are expected to have the same dimensions as the earlier Mk. III variant, which are as follows:

Length: at least 17 meters long
Displacement: less than 30 tons (without the weapon systems)
Maximum Speed: at least 45 knots
Range: at least 300nmi at transit speed
Propulsion: 2 diesel engines coupled to water jet system
Complement: 2 officers and 5 crew memebers, plus 8 fully equipped troops.
As-delivered Standard Weapons: 2 M60 7.62mm light machine guns in addition to those to be delivered separately under the MPAC Combat Systems and Capability Upgrade Lot 1 project.

The expected layout of the MPAC Mk. III could be like the one shown on the photo above. Aside from the Typhoon mounts, the boat can also be armed by 2 M60 7.62mm machine guns.
Photo taken from the old Timawa.net forum.

MPAC Mk. III Series 2018 Additional Works:

It also appears that unlike the acquisition of the MPAC Mk. III Series 2014, this current batch will need some additional work on the boat iself, and its already apparent that the Navy is solving this issue.

Due to the rising costs, it could have been difficult for Propmech-Lung Teh JV to win the MPAC 4th Batch without the need to make sure it is profitable and reasonable for them to bag the project. Being commercial in nature, it is normal for the proponent to make sure they will earn from this project.

Propmech-Lung Teh JV's tender price is actually only Php200,000 less than the allocated budget for the project. But it appears that there were a lot of un-included items, probably intentionally removed by the PN TWG from the technical specifications, due to price escalations over the years.

To cover this, the DND released a separate project called the Lot 2 of the MPAC Mk. III Combat Systems and Capability Upgrade, which covers the Mission Essentials Equipment and the MPAC Mk. III Series 2018 Integrated Logistics Support (ILS). Out of the Php722 million intended for the project, Php60 million was allocated for this work's Allocated Budget of Contract (ABC).

Normally, the MPAC acquisition already  should have the items included in this lot, specifically the ILS, communications equipment, shock mitigating seats for passengers, and the ballistic panels and glass on specific areas of the boat.

MaxDefense has reason to believe that Propmech-Lung Teh JV, or any other boat-builder cannot deliver 3 fully functional MPACs with ILS for Php270 million or less. Costs has finally caught up with the times, and the PN has no choice but to adjust its Combat Systems and Capability Upgrade to include these items just to allow the MPAC acquisition to push through without hassles.

Submission and Opening of Bid Envelopes (SOBE) for this MPAC Mission Essentials and ILS Lot 2 
was scheduled on 14 June 2018, and although we still do not have a confirmation who bagged the project, MaxDefense believes it is fitting for Promech Corporation to win the project since they are familiar with the boats and are the most capable of providing the ILS to their own product.

While we still do not know the winning bidder's submitted amount, it is safe to say that the current MPAC 4th Batch, without its weapons system, costs a little less than Php330,000,000.00 for all 3, or
a little less than Php110,000,000.00 each.

Shock-mitigating seats are among those to be procured under the MPAC Mk. III Series 2018 Combat Systems and Capability Upgrade Lot 2 Mission Essential Equipment and ILS. It appears that Propmech-LungTeh JV did not include this in their contract  to deliver the MPAC Mk. III Series 2018.
Photo taken from Propmech's video.

MPAC Mk. III Series 2018 Combat Systems:

There is still little information on the other part of the MPAC Mk. III Combat Systems and Capability Upgrade Lot 1, which is expected to be the project for the procurement of weapon systems for the MPAC Mk. III Series 2018.

Originally it was supposed to have an ABC of Php722,000,000.00 and will only be 1 lot, but the changes in the MPAC Series 2018 acquisition required the Philippine Navy to source out additional funding to cover for the need to acquire lacking equipment on the MPACs. Since only Php722,000,000.00 was released for the entire project, Lot 2 was deducted from the overall budget, leaving Php662,000,000.00 for the Lot 1.

So far, what MaxDefense is sure is that it would be for the acquisition of Remote Controlled Weapons System (RCWS), Multiple Launching System for short-range surface-to-surface missile launchers, and the missiles itself.

While it appears that the Philippine Navy is still in the pre-procurement stage on this project-lot, MaxDefense has strong reason to believe that this would be a Government-to-Government (G2G) acquisition involving Israel and Rafael Advance Systems Ltd. If this is the case, MaxDefense believes that Rafael may again offer the Rafael Spike-ER missile, Typhoon MLS-ER missile launching system, and Mini Typhoon 12.7mm RCWS mount.

The difference from the last Horizon 1 MPAC Combat System project is the allocated budget. While the weapons for the MPAC Mk. III Series 2014 for Php594 million, this time the budget allocated was Php662 million.

MaxDefense believes that the cost increase may be attributed to price escalation and inflation, a poorer US dollar - Philippine pesos exchange rate, and the possibility that the PN wanted to acquire more surface-to-surface missile rounds than before. Each MPAC was designed to carry 4 ready-to-fire missiles in the launcher, plus 10 more rounds located on the boat's storage. MaxDefense won't be too specific, but the previous deal with Rafael did not cover the acquisition of a full 14 rounds per boat.

The Rafael Mini Typhoon 12.7mm RCWS (top) and the Rafael Typhoon MLS-ER (above) are expected to be acquired again to arm the MPAC Mk. III Series 2018 boats under a G2G deal with Israel.
Top photo taken from Rafael's website, bottom photo taken from Philippine Navy's FB page.

Summary:

1. Multi-Purpose Attack Craft Series 2018 Acquisition Project

End User: Philippine Navy (Littoral Combat Force)
Modernization Phase: RA 10349 Revised AFP Modernization Program HORIZON 1 (2nd List)
ABC: Php270,000,000.00
SARO Release: SARO-BMB-D-17-0024343, released 18 December 2017
Lowest Proponent: Propmech Corporation - Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. Joint Venture
Bid Price: Php269,799,999.99
First post by MaxDefense: 30 December 2017


2. Multi-Purpose Attack Craft Mk. III Series 2018 Combat System and Capability Upgrade Lot 2 - Mission Essential Equipment and ILS

End User: Philippine Navy (Littoral Combat Force) - for MPAC Mk. III Series 2018
Modernization Phase: RA 10349 Revised AFP Modernization Program HORIZON 2 (Priority List)
ABC: Php60,000,000.00
SARO Release: SARO-BMB-D-18-0012925, released 01 June 2018;
Winning Proponent: still for public bidding.
Contract Price: TBA


3. Multi-Purpose Attack Craft Mk. III Series 2018 Combat System and Capability Upgrade Lot 1 - (unnamed sub-project)

End User: Philippine Navy (Littorla Combat Force) - to be installed on MPAC Mk. III Series 2018
Modernization Phase: RA 10349 Revised AFP Modernization Program HORIZON 2 (Priority List)
ABC: Php662,000,000.00
SARO Release: SARO-BMB-D-18-0012925, released 01 June 2018;
Winning Proponent: none yet, still awaiting procurement process decision
Contract Price: TBA
First post by MaxDefense: 31 May 2018.



MaxDefense will provide more information in the future, considering the project is still in the early stages and might be delivered only by late 2019. The MPAC Weapon System is also another project worth discussing in the future, as we await for more information regarding the deal.




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U P D A T E S:
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25 September 2018:

The Department of National Defense has finally released the Notice of Award (NOA) for the Multi-Purpose Attack Craft Mk. III (Series 2018) Combat System and Capability Upgrade Lot 2 - Mission Essential Equipment and ILS to Propmech Corporation last 11 September 2018. This is after Propmech was declared the Single Calculated Responsive Bidder last 30 August 2018.

This is so far, the first Philippine Navy project awarded under the Horizon 2 phase.

Propmech Corp. was expected to win this bidding due to their ongoing participation in the construction of the MPACs. The requirement is for the winning bidder to do the works in Lung Teh's boatyard in Taiwan, which means only Propmech can do it with practical ease compared to other potential bidders.

A copy of the Notice of Award (NOA) provided by DND to Propmech Corporation.
NOA taken from DND's website.

While the NOA is out, the Contract and the Letter of Credit are still pending with the DND, although MaxDefense expects the Contract to be signed probably by October 2018. MaxDefense will provide updates once it gets confirmation that the Contract has been signed, and if the LOC is provided, which is the basis of Project Start.

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Philippine Navy Finally Receives Spike-ER Missiles and Launchers and RCWS for MPAC Mk.III Boats

Finally, after several delays on the delivery, this week the Philippine Navy has finally received its shipment of Spike-ER short range surface-to-surface missiles, Typhoon MLS-ER missile launchers, and Mini Typhoon 12.7mm Remote Control Weapon Systems from Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

This would be an important milestone for the Philippine Navy as it marks its entrance to the missile age, with the Spike-ER being its first surface-to-surface missile system.

A Typhoon MLS-ER firing a Spike-ER missile.
Photo taken from Rafael's website.

The missiles, launchers and RCWS will all be equipped on the Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) Mk.III, 3 units of which were activated last May 2017 and assigned with the Littoral Combat Force.

Each MPAC will get a Mini Typhoon armed with a Browning M2 50-caliber machine gun, and a Typhoon MLS-ER launcher. Each missile launching system can carry 4 ready-to-fire Spike-ER missile launchers and missiles, although the MPAC could carry more rounds due to availability of an ammunition storage.

Some photos during the delivery inspection of the missiles, launchers and RCWS to the Philippine Navy. Faces on photos intentionally blurred/blacked-out to protect identity of inspection team.
Photos shared by source to MaxDefense.

It would be remembered that the Philippine Navy had delivery issues with these products from Rafael, despite the contract making Rafael responsible for delivery from Israel to the Philippines.

The Philippine Navy even asked General Headquarters AFP for approval of their request to use C-130 heavy tactical transport aircraft from the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to pick-up the missiles and launchers from Israel, although these requests were denied several times due to the limited availability of the PAF C-130s in line with events in the country that require their lifting capability.

Due to these availability issues, the PN and Rafael decided to push through with the delivery through commercial shipping.




Project Recap:

The Multi-Purpose Attack Craft Mk. III acquisition project was part of the Revised AFP Modernization Program's HORIZON 1 phase covering 2013-2017, and was divided into 2 lots:  Lot 1 was for the acquisition of 3 MPAC Mk. III boats with a budget of  Php270 million, while Lot 2 was for the acquisition of the MPAC Weapons System with a budget of Php594.320 million.

The MPAC Mk. III during their delivery and acceptance with the Philippine Navy last May 2017. Currently they are not yet armed with the Typhoon systems, and currently they are temporarily armed with manually operated machine guns. That would change with the delivery of the RCWS and missile launchers.
Photo courtesy of a MaxDefense community member, exclusive to MaxDefense.

Lot 1 underwent public bidding, which was won by Propmech Corporation-Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. Joint Venture under a Php268,880,000.00 contract while Lot 2 was a Government-to-Government procurement between the Philippines and Israel. 

An inert version of the Rafael Typhoon MLS-ER missile launcher as shown by officers of the Philippine Navy to Pres. Duterte aboard BRP Davao del Sur last June 2017.
Credits to owner of photo.

The Rafael Spike-ER missile is eletro-optically guided multipurpose missile with a minimum and maximum effective firing range of 400 meters and up to 8.000 meters, respectively. It can also be operated as a fire-and-forget missile to allow the safe escape of the launching platform. The missile has a penetration capability of up to 1,000mm of rolled homogeneous armor, good enough against small surface targets to destroy small boats and armored vehicles, or damage small ships.

The Spike-ER multipurpose missile.
Credits to owner of photo.

The Rafael Typhoon MLS-ER is an remote controlled weapon system, lightweight and stabilized launching platform that could be installed to small boats including the PN's MPAC platforms It includes an Electro-Optical Director and fire control system, and could be used in day and night operations.

The Rafael Mini Typhoon, a variant of the Typhoon family of naval stabilized remote controlled weapon system, is used on a variety of naval platforms including small boats like the MPAC. It is made to support smaller caliber weapons including the 50-caliber 12.7mm machine guns used by the Philippine Navy. It can be operated as a stand-alone system with a remote firing system inside the boat, or as part of a combat management system. It also allows manual operation as required by the end-user, and is capable of day and night operation.

The Rafael Mini Typhoon RCWS during remote operation.
Credits to owner of photo.

Another Horizon 1 project is finally completed, as the Philippine Navy is still struggling to complete its acquisitions under this phase. The Philippine Navy, as of MaxDefense's last count, still has more than ten (10) Horizon 1 projects in different stages of acquisition, despite 2018 already part of the Horizon 2 phase.

MaxDefense will continue to update its readers once the launchers are installed on the MPAC Mk. III boats, which would probably take some time considering the boats are currently assigned away from the PN's main naval base in Cavite.

Read More

Acquisition of a 4th Batch of 3 MPACs for the Philippine Navy Underway

Note (March 7, 2017): Starting today, some of the future blog entries of MaxDefense Philippines will be shorter than usual. This would be an experimental system, in which a blog entry would be used if the discussion would be considered too long to post in the MaxDefense Philippines' Facebook community page post. Updates would be made on this same blog entry as more information comes in, but in the meantime, initial information would start as a short blog entry.


In line with the new administration's policy to give importance on defeating internal security threats including terrorism, insurgency, piracy, and narcotics, the Philippine Navy has also adjusted its procurement plans as part of its modernization efforts.

Based on the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Revised AFP Modernization Program Horizon (2013-2017) 2nd List of Horizon 1, the Philippine Navy is scheduled to acquire another three (3) Multi-Purpose Attack Crafts (MPAC), with an Approved Budget for Contract (ABC) worth Php 270 million. The ABC is very much similar to the ABCs of previous MPAC acquisition projects (without the weapons systems), which means that we could be expecting a design that is very close to the MPAC Mk.3 which was awarded to Propmech Corporation based on a design from Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. of Taiwan and currently under construction.

One of the MPAC Mk.2, which is currently the latest MPAC class in service with the Philippine Navy. The Mk.3 which is still under construction is larger and has design changes that allow it to carry RCWS and Spike-ER missile launchers.

Purpose:

The MPACs are currently among the fastest and nimblest assets of the Littoral Combat Force, the unit in charge of littoral operations within the Philippine Fleet. Originally planned as assault boats for fast insertion and extraction of special operation troopers in coastal areas, the boats are now used for a variety of missions including littoral patrol, ship-boarding operations, search & rescue, and with the MPAC Mk. 3 armed with Spike-ER missiles, they are now also being prepped for littoral surface warfare operations using "swarm tactics" against larger ships like corvettes or frigates, or individual combat assets against similar or slightly larger naval targets like terrorist-carrying or suicide bomber boats, or enemy fast attack crafts and patrol boats.

The MPACs, specifically the Mk. 3, are also being groomed to be carried by the Tarlac-class Landing Platform Dock, and any other future large amphibious platforms that the Philippine Navy will acquire in the future. Aside from the size and capacity to carry RCWS and missiles, the MPAC Mk. 3 were designed to allow its mast to fit into the LPD/SSV's well deck. It is expected that the Batch 4 will also be designed with that in mind.

It remains to be seen, but based on information gathered by MaxDefense in the past several months, it appears now that the Philippine Navy will be focusing on the acquisition of larger fast boats, which will be equipped with short range missile systems and will be classified as Fast Attack Crafts rather than using the MPAC design which is too small and cramped for operations further out to sea. MPACs are limited by its lack of living quarters, poor seakeeping on higher sea states, smaller provisions for fuel and food/water for the crew, and the troop carrying compartment which is useless during patrol operations.

MaxDefense believes that MPACs can be used on inner littorals, especially in the southern corridors in Mindanao near the borders of Indonesia and Malaysia, while larger FACs can be used for outer littoral patrols in support of larger ships of the Philippine Fleet's Offshore Combat Force.



Funding the Batch 4 MPACs:

This 4th batch of MPAC was actually approved for acquisition during the term of former Pres. Benigno Aquino III, but was among those projects that did not see the light of day as their Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) has expired without the project moving forward. But it was forwarded again by the Philippine Navy to the Department of National Defense (DND) for re-funding for 2017. With a stroke of luck, the current administration, through Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno made changes in the SARO system, which allowed the Department of Budget Managent (DBM) to allow for the SARO to be extended instead of doing the process of getting a new SARO which takes months, if not years to approve.



MPAC Mk. 4?

Since the project is still in its inception, it is still unclear if the MPAC Batch 4 will be similar in design to the MPAC Mk.3, or will it be another design in the making as MPAC Mk.4. But MaxDefense believes that it would be close to the design parameters of the MPAC Mk.3 which is able to mount remote-controlled weapon stations (RCWS) and Spike-ER missile launchers.

The MPAC Mk.3 as it appear in a description poster during the anniversary of the Philippine Fleet last 2015.
Photo taken from the former Timawa.net defense forum website.

Expected Weapons Systems:

Based on the proposal submitted by the Department of National Defense for the acquisition as part of the Php 25 billion AFP Modernization Program budget for 2017, the Philippine Navy was able to include the acquisition of  Combat Systems for 3 MPACs in their request for funding. This is still being pushed for approval from Malacanang, although it is already confirmed that the Php 25 billion funding for the AFP Modernization Program for 2017 will be made available by the national government. So if the Navy fails to get funding for the MPAC Combat Systems, they can still use the money for other naval projects.

But aside from the inclusion of the MPAC Combat System in the proposal for approval, MaxDefense sources already confirmed that the Philippine Navy is expected to award a contract within this year to a weapon systems manufacturer which won't name for now, to supply remote-control weapons stations for machine guns, and missile systems. Common sense shows who the supplier is.

The MPAC Batch 4 are expected to be equipped with short-range surface-to-surface missile system, just like the MPAC Mk.3. MaxDefense won't confirm the expected supplier just yet, but everyone is free to guess who it is.
Photo from NavyRecognition.com.

More information will be provided by MaxDefense as the project progresses and gets awarded. 


First edit and release: March 7, 2017 
Copyright MaxDefense Philippines

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The Philippine Navy embarks on the acquisition of missile-armed Multi Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC-M)

The Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) has recently released the Terms of Reference for the Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) acquisition project (Lot 1) for the Philippine Navy (PN). The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) is Php 270 million for 3 brand new units, The boats shall be delivered together with mission essential equipment and integrated logistics support (ILS) package for the first 2 years.

The project is actually divided into 2 lots: Lot 1 involves the acquisition of the boat itself, considered to be good enough as a regular MPAC, and Lot 2 is for the acquisition of a remote weapons system (RWS) and a missile launching system. More of Lot 2 will be discussed later on, in the meantime, MaxDefense will focus on the current project, which is Lot 1.

The Multi-Purpose Attack Craft:
The Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) is a fast boat used by the PN for different missions, which includes insertion and extraction of troops, maritime patrol, maritime law enforcement, and other purposes that the PN finds the boats capable of doing. Currently the PN has six MPAC in its arsenal, divided into 2 sub-classes. Being minor assets, they are not named in the PN fleet, but are only know according to their hull number. Based on the PN's hull numbering system, the boats are currently designated as Assault Landing Crafts with designation as "BA".

The current classes of MPAC in the PN are around 15 to 17 meters long, has a maximum speed of around 40 to 4 knots using

The first ship of class of the MPAC Mk. 1, BA-482, during tests.
Photo taken from the Philippine Navy's website.

The first ship of the MPAC Mk. 2, BA-485, during the presentation to the media a few years ago.

The first sub-class, locally known as the "MPAC Mk. 1", consists of hull number BA-482, BA-483, and BA-484, are designed and built for Filipino company Propmech Corporation by their subcontractor Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. of Taiwan, with propulsion system, fit-out, local sales,and support provided by Propmech. It is 15 meters long, has a maximum speed of 40 knots, and is entirely made of aluminum.

The MPAC Mk. 1's plan and cross section details.
Photo taken from Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Ltd's product brochure.

A second sub-class locally know as "MPAC Mk. 2", consists of hull number BA-485, BA-486 and BA-487. They are physically bigger at 17 meters long, and has improved performance like a higher maximum speed of 45 knots. It also made modifications to address shortcomings found on the Mk. 1 like position of gun mounts and access, aerodynamic design, location of ballistic protection armor, and other minor issues. Like its predecessor, the Mk.2 boats were also designed and made by Propmech and Lung Teh.  

The MPAC Mk. 2's plan and cross section details.
Photo taken from Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.'s product brochure.

Both sub-classes are armed with a single 12,7mm M2 machine gun and two M60 7,62mm machine guns, with the smaller guns positioned frontward. The Mk.2 also has an improved field of fire as compared to the Mk. 1, with the machine guns moved to a higher position near the boat's bridge.




The PN's MPAC Mark 3:
With the continuous experience gained by the Philippine Navy in using both 2 different types of MPACs in service, it was able to again come up with a redesign of the type, with a few changes on the MPAC Mk. 2, and additional weapons and sensors systems that will further expand the role of the MPAC from merely an insertion and patrol platform, into a small surface combatant.

Based on the Technical Specifications released by the DND, the changes include improvements on the safety features and ballistic protection, at the same time the installation of 12.7mm heavy machine gun in a remote weapons stations (RWS), plus a missile launching systems that will be provided separately by the Philippine Navy. Doing so means increasing the loading capacity the boats can carry while retaining the same agility and performance as the regular MPACs. This might be possible with the reduced required passenger capacity for the boarding team from 20+ men to just a minimum of 8 men. Although more can be made, it would probably be used by the designers as basis, as increasing the capacity to more than 8 men means increasing the design of the boat.

The reduced boarding team capacity also means using the space for the RWS and its operators, and storage for ammunition. This also means the troop insertion will become a minor role for the boats, as it becomes closer to a small fast missile craft rather than an MPAC.

The increased ballistic protection may include adding more armoring on locations that previously do not have this feature. It may also mean increasing the armor plate thickness, or improving the slope or material used on locations that were already armored in the MPAC Mk. 2, thus increasing the total weight of the boat without passengers and crew.




Use of Remote Weapons Stations and Missile Launching System: The installation of the remote weapons systems, which was rated to be weighing only a maximum of 800 kilograms, which appears to be a single system that will both carry and integrate a 12.7mm heavy machine gun and missile launching system. MaxDefense believes that the DND & PN are actually leaning on having Rafael's Mini Typhoon stabilized naval RWS gun-missile mount. Including the ammunition, the total weight of the ammo and weapons system is 1,500 kilograms.

The Rafael Mini Typhoon naval RWS mount as shown with a Spike missile launcher.
Photo snipped from Rafael Mini Typhoon brochure.

This RWS system can be mounted with a Philippine Navy-standard Browning M2 machine gun, and Rafael's own Spike ER or Spike NLOS surface to surface missile, which has a navalized variant. If this would be the choice, MaxDefense hopes that the DND and PN choose the NLOS variant of the missile, which has a reported maximum effective range of 25 kilometers as opposed to the Spiker ER which only has an effective range up to 8 kilometers. 

Not only Spike NLOS a better weapon than the Spike ER, it is also a missile that can be used by the Philippine Navy for other purposes. With the PN also embarking to acquire a naval helicopter with anti-surface and anti-submarine capabilities, the Spiker NLOS can be a good candidate. It is further bolstered by the PN's possible choice of the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat helicopter, which was also chosen by the Republic of Korea Navy with the capability to fire the Spike NLOS. That makes 2 possible platforms where the Spike NLOS can be used.

The Spike NLOS missile from Rafael. 

Aside from a RWS mounting, the boat will still feature at least 2 manually-operated machine gun mounts for 7.62mm general purpose machine guns, probably on the same location as those found at the MPAC Mk. 2.




Requirement to be Locally Made:
The PN has been the most interested armed service to have its assets built locally, in line of its goal of partial self-sufficiency as part of its long term goals. A requirement for the project are for bidders to build the boats locally, unlike the earlier MPACs that were actually built aborad (Mk.1 was built in Taiwan, and it is still unclear if Mk.2 was built locally by Propmech, or was built in Taiwan by Lung Teh Shipbuilding for Propmech).

The size of the boats are reasonable enough to be built locally, as it does not represent a large technological leap for local shipbuilders. As a country that is considered the 4th largest shipbuilding country in the world, it is expected that this should be attainable with high degree of success and quality.




Is it the Platform Best for use in the West Philippine Sea?
The MPAC has shown its versatility in several occassions, as a troop insertion and special operations boat, as an inshore patrol boat, and as a fast search and rescue platform. But it will always be limited by its size in many capabilities, like in the sea state it is going to operate, the range and endurance in operation, weapons and load it can safely and optimaly carry, and in the comfort in which the crew can operate.

Arming the boat with a missile system may represent a leap of capability for the Philippine Navy, but this technological capability can only be used on threats that are inshore or within a few kilometers away from land. It can't be used well to operate in offshore waters with high sea state, and where most of the armed threats the country is facing can be found. 

The missile system it may use is a good one, but is small and not enough to really stop large patrol vessels or frigate-sized ships the neighboring countries are fielding in case a shooting war starts. The missile system is designed for lower ranges and will need the missile MPAC to get close to its target, and if the target is a missile armed corvette or frigate, it would definitely be fired upon first several kilometers away before the MPAC reaches its optimal launching distance.

In short, the missile-armed MPAC is not optimized for the West Philippine Sea. 

For the West Philippine Sea and other offshore threats, it would still be best for the Philippine Navy to invest on vessels that are at least designed to operate in high sea states without degradation of the weapons and sensor system's performance, and has enough size and endurance to stay longer and carry a larger, more powerful anti-ship missile system.

Larger vessels that can carry larger missiles and can operate at deeper waters are advisable for the West Philippine Sea area, rather than using small missile-armed MPACs. The minimum size would be similar to the Korea Navy's Gomdoksuri-class fast attack craft (above), although something larger would be better.
Photo taken from Korea Defense Network website.

So is the MPAC Mk.3 a Bad Investment?
Not really. After all these shortcomings, MaxDefense does not discount the plan to arm its latest generation MPAC with missiles. The boats can be a good platform to use in patrols near the borders between the Southern Philippines and Sabah, where pirates and illegal activity has always been rampant. Its speed and size can be of good use in this area, and it can easily be based on the thousands of small islands with ease.

The Philippine Navy needs more small patrol boats and MPACs to guard its southern corridors, while it would be best for the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police Maritime Group to patrol the archipelagic waters of the country.

Another suggestion of using the MPAC is operating from the Kalayaan Group of Islands. But the lack of a decent port facility in any of the islands occupied by the Philippines might be detrimental to this plan. But having missile armed MPACs ready for deployment once these facilities are available is better than having nothing at all.


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So far, the last publicly announced communication made by the DND regarding the Lot 1 of this project is the temporary suspension of the project until further notice. But MaxDefense believes that this project has only hit a temporary issue that has also affected several other projects of the AFP Modernization Program.

MaxDefense is hopeful that the government will finally clear all the obstacles hindering the DND and PN from continuing the program to acquire its needed equipment, including this latest MPAC endeavor.

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