Upcoming Balikpapan-class Landing Crafts-Heavy for the Philippine Navy - A Good Addition to the Fleet

The Australian Defence Minister Mr. Kevin Andrews announced plans to donate two former Royal Australian Navy landing crafts-heavy (LCH) to the Philippine Navy. This is in support of their commitment to improve the Philippines' humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) capabilities. The ships involved are the recently retired ships of the Balikpapan-class, the former HMAS Brunei (L 127) and HMAS Tarakan (L 129). According to the Australian Ministry of Defence, the two ships will be refurbished and installed with a new safety and navigation equipment before handing them over to the Philippine Navy. The expected hand-over of these ships can be made as early as May 2015.

One of the ships to be transferred to the Philippine Navy, the former HMAS Brunei (L 127).
Photo taken from worldwarships.com

Aside from the transfer of the said ships, the Australian MOD has offered three other Balikpapan-class landing crafts for sale to the Philippine government. They are the former HMAS Balikpapan (L 126), HMAS Wewak (L 130) and HMAS Betano (L 133), which were decommissioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 2012. Recent media reports quoting Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) officials that they are indeed interested in acquiring the ships for US$16.5 million, including refurbishing works prior to delivery.



The Balikpapan-class Landing Craft Heavy (LCH)
The Australian-made Balikpapan-class landing craft heavy were first built and commissioned in 1971 for the Australian Army (later handed-over to the Royal Australian Navy). A total of eight (8) units were built as a replacement for the World War II era Landing Ship Mediums that Australia operated. Two of the LCH were later handed-over to the Papua New Guinea Defence Forces when the country became independent from Australia's administration in 1975.

Five Balikpapan-class ships during an amphibious landing exercise by the Royal Australian Navy.
Photo taken from RAN website.

Each ship is 44.5 meters long, 10.1 meters wide, a draught of 2.0 meters, and full load displacement of 517 tons. It has a 16-man crew, a carrying capacity of 180 tons of cargo, and is powered by two Caterpillar 3406E marine diesel engines propelling the ships to a maximum speed of 10 knots.



Comparison to Philippine Navy's Current Landing Craft Assets:
Compared to the Philippine Navy's lone Tagbanua-class landing craft utility (LCU) BRP Tagbanua (AT-296), the Balikpapan-class ships are smaller and slower (10 knots vs 15 knots maximum speed), but has a larger carrying load capacity than the Tagbanua (180 tons vs 110 tons). The Balikpapans also have a smaller internal space for passengers, and is mostly suitable in transporting vehicles and goods rather than people or troops, as compared to the Tagbanua which has a large internal capacity and seating for troops and shelter from outside conditions like sunlight, heat, or rain. Being old ships, expect the performance values of the Balikpapan-class to be less than written in sources, and it is expected that safety measures will be made which includes capping the maximum capabilities to a lesser degree than originally designed.

The Philippine Navy's BRP Tagbanua (AT-296) is larger and faster, but can carry less payload than the Balikpapan-class.

It would be almost similar in capability and design as the other locally-made Landing Craft Utility of the Philippine Navy, the lesser known BRP Manobo (BU-297). It has the same large open cargo deck suitable for bringing in vehicles just like the Balikpapan-class, although it appears that the Manobo is a longer ship. There is not much available information on the performance values of BRP Manobo although a source confirmed that it has even less capacity than the BRP Tagbanua although it also costs less to operate.

The BRP Manobo (BU-297) bringing in people and relief goods on unprepared ports.
Photo taken from the Philippine Navy's FB page.

The LCH in Philippine Setting:
There were several queries from MaxDefense readers in our Facebook page about the capabilities of the Balikpapan-class LCH.

Operating in the Kalayaan Group of Islands: Being a low-draft, flat hulled ship, the Balikpapan-class LCH are suitable for beaching operations that can be used during combat amphibious operations, or landing of equipment on unprepared ports or beaches. This could be very useful for HADR operations, as emphasized by the Australian MOD for its reason to grant two ships to the PN. Emergency vehicles such as construction equipment, lorries for transporting goods, and military vehicles like tanks and armored vehicles can easily be moved around the archipelago using these. But its design is not suitable for deep water operations on high sea states. 

The HMAS Betano (L 133) carrying several M113 armored vehicles of the Australian Army.

Being so, technically it can deliver supplies to the outposts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the Kalayaan Group of Islands (KIG), but due to its slow speed and design it may not be advisable to do so without support. At only 10 knots maximum speed, it would take 2 days for it to reach the KIG from Palawan, and another 2 days going back, plus the time it spends around the KIG delivering supplies. Although it takes almost the same time for an old Landing Ship Tank (LST) to do the same, it doesn't have the size and design to stay too long at open sea without the risk of getting into unfavorable weather conditions, unlike the larger LST.

It would be optimal to use the LCH on coastal waters or shallow waters, which include the territorial and archipelagic waters of the country, or in missions to nearby countries like Malaysia. This was proven by the BRP Tagbanua during its mission to Malaysia to bring in Filipinos fleeing Sabah a few years ago.


Docking Inside the Strategic Sealift Vessel's Well Deck:
Due to its high superstructure design and size, it is also not possible to dock the LCH inside the well decks of the upcoming Strategic Sealift Vessel / Landing Platform Dock. Although the SSV has its own landing craft, these are different in design and size. The Balikpapan-class is very much larger than those integral LC, and are actually capable of independent operation without reliance on larger "mother-ships" like the SSV. 

The Balikpapan's size won't even fit inside well decks of major US Navy amphibious vessels like the one above, more so on smaller LPDs like the Philippine Navy's SSV.

Weapons to be Installed:
Previously the Royal Australian Navy installed two 12.7mm machine guns as self-defense weapons of the ship. It is expected that the Philippine Navy would retain these guns, and might even fit each ship with either more machine guns, or install it with larger caliber guns like old 20mm Oerlikon guns previously installed on old PN ships and are now stored in the Naval Sea Systems Command warehouses.

A RAN crewman from the HMAS Balikpapan operating one of its 12.7mm machine guns.
Photo taken from the RAN website.

Don't expect missiles or other more advanced weapons to be installed other than the guns mentioned above.


LCH in the Desired Force Mix:
The Philippine Navy's Desired Force Mix whitepaper states that they need around 18 units of landing craft utility or similar designed ships for inter-island transport and as a smaller alternative to the service's Landing Ship Tanks and the upcoming Strategic Sealift Vessel / Landing Platform Dock. This acquisition fits in to this requirement, and would be a fast way of beefing up the fleet while the navy restarts any building program for more landing crafts like the BRP Tagbanua which takes time from planning to construction to commissioning. Other upcoming assets like Landing Crafts-Utility from South Korea is also another addition that could improve the short-term capabilities of the Philippine Navy. 



MaxDefense's Suggestion:
Since I have seen these ships upfront in the past, MaxDefense believes that these assets are still capable of use for at least 15 more years with proper maintenance and care. It is a good design that can even be used by the Philippine Navy and local shipyards as a basis for future landing craft design requirements.

Aside from landing crafts, MaxDefense suggests that the Philippine Navy acquire assets that could replace the ageing World War II era Landing Ships-Tank, which should be larger than the LCH and LCU, has the same beaching capability, and can be slotted in-between the landing crafts and the upcoming SSV/LPD. There are LST designs offered by friendly countries like Korea, India, and Indonesia that could be worth looking at, and is expected to be cheaper than the $42 million SSV. With the South Korean Navy upgrading its amphibious forces assets, it is also expected that they might be releasing their Go Jun Bong-class LSTs in the near future. LSTs have been proven to be an effective transport asset in the past, and even used by the PN for different duties including as patrol vessels, HADR assets, and even as helicopter platforms.

The ROKS Bi Ro Bong, one of the Go Jun Bong-class LSTs of the Korean Navy.
Photo taken from Wikimedia.

Another alternative to new LSTs are more Logistics Support Vessels similar to the Bacolod City-class of the Philippine Navy. These are simple-designed transport vessels, possibly cheaper to acquire than an LST, and its design is so simple that it can even be easily built in the Philippines. If the US Army would take them out of service anytime soon, MaxDefense suggests that the PN take a look at them. 




MaxDefense welcomes the impending addition of these assets for the Philippine Navy, and as an Australian, I am proud and thankful to the Australian government for its generous support to the Philippines.

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The Everchanging Plans for Acquisition of Amphibious Transport Vessels for the PN

Recently a news report came out quoting an unnamed DND official on the procurement of 2 Service Support Vessels (SSV), which was described as "mission capable ship" and "smaller than the MRV (multi-role vessel, a.k.a. Landing Platform Dock), and is worth around P2 billion.

Before we attempt to discuss this new program, MaxDefense would like to go back in time.

Previous attempts by the Philippine Navy to purchase replacements or complements for its old and mostly World War 2-era amphibious vessels date back before the Ramos-era AFP Modernization Program. Most have not been implemented, except for a few new assets.

From 1991, the Philippine Navy planned to have at least 8 units of Logistics Support Vessels (LSV), of which 2 units were bought from the US government and were delivered between 1993 and 1994. The US-made LSV were based on a helicopter-capable design of the US Army's Frank Beeson-class, known in the Philippine Navy as the Bacolod City-class. These were envisioned to replace and complement the ex-USN Landing Ship Tank (LST) and decommissioned Landing Ship-Medium (LSM) that were decimated in the PN's fleet due to obsolescence and lack of funding to support maintenance and operation. Besides the first 2 units, no additional units were ordered.

The 1995 AFP Modernization Act included a requirement for 4 amphibious transport vessels, although it did not specify which type it plans to acquire. But it was very much possible to still be  US-made LSVs similar to the Bacolod City-class or an LST design. Between 1995 and 2010, no new amphibious transport vessel was purchased or inducted to the PN.

The plans to purchase Multi-Role Vessels (MRV) actually started in 2005, when the PN's delegation at IMDEX Asia 2005 in Singapore visited and reportedly "evaluated" a Singapore Navy (RSN) Endurance-class landing ship tank/LPD for possible acquisition. *Initially the price quoted to the DND and PN was within the budget, but it appears that the unit price of the Endurance-class increased afterwards, even in the less-automated version. The DND and PN's slow action to push for the program's success was overtaken by commercial and costs issues that ultimately stopped the deal from progressing further .*

RSS Persistence, an Endurance-class LST/LPD. Was the first chance of the PN to obtain a modern LPD.
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons c/o jimmyweeee

After the failed attempt at the Singaporean Endurance-class, the DND and PN looked for a cheaper alternative, and found an answer from South Korea's Daesun Shipbuilding and Indonesia's PT PAL, with the Makassar-class LPD or its derivative. The Makassar-class was built by Daesun for the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) following civilian specifications. Some of the ships of the class were built by Indonesia's PT PAL under a technology transfer agreement. 

Initially, the PN aired its desire to obtain at least two units, with each ship costing around Php 5 billion. Negotiations for the deal included a possible financing by the South Korean government as part of a loan package for military equipment (which the Philippine government did not opt to use), freezing the price against escalations to avoid the same mistake as the Endurance-class project, and bundling each ship with an appropriate number of support crafts and vehicles including the Samsung Techwin KAAV7 (a Korean licensed-built AAV7) and a mobile hospital.

As late as 2010 on the closing days of the Arroyo administration, the PN was reportedly close to completing the deal for at least 1 unit for Php 5 billion. This was the closest attempt by the PN to have its first ever new large amphibious vessel, but this was later cancelled by the current Aquino administration citing re-evaluation for possible contract-detail issues, specifically on suspicion of graft and corruption. 

The PN's MRV plan based on the Makassar-class, packaged with several support craft and vehicles.
Photo taken from Timawa.net forum c/o Adroth

The Makassar-class is still reportedly being considered for the MRV project, either made by Indonesia's PT PAL or by South Korea's Daesun Shipbuilding.

An Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) Makassar-class LPD

Reports also came out that the PN was interested in the Spanish Galicia-class, and even the expensive and advanced San Antonio-class LPD from the US. Spain's Navantia also confirmed that the PN was indeed offered the Athlas-class LPD family, which the Galicia was based.

Navantia's Athlas LPD 8000
Photo taken from Navantia website.

In 2009, another transport vessel program was brought up for the PN which was called the Strategic Sealift Vessel (SSV), which is a proposal to purchase a used Roll-on, Roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferry from Japan, and its purchase will be supported by DBP Maritime Leasing Corporation Inc. (DMLC), a subsidiary of Development Bank of the Philippines, more widely known as DBP. 

The original SSV is a typical Ro-Ro ferry built to commercial Ro-Ro standards, with no helicopter deck or helicopter facilities, no heavy weapon mounts (although machine gun mounts can be added by the PN), and cannot conduct amphibious operations. In short, it is just a sealift vessel to transport vehicles and men between developed ports or piers.

A typical Japanese-made Ro-Ro. The original SSV project was to purchase a similar ship.
Photo taken from MarineTraffic.com

Although the request for budget was submitted to the Philippine Congress, delays mounted and this program fizzled after budget allocation was not provided immediately. The specific ship offered to the government was sold to another buyer.

Afterwards, the PN and DND decided to change the technical specifications of the SSV project, moving away from the civilian Ro-Ro type ferry to a small MRV-looking ship, and although still built according to civilian specifications, it would be built according to the navy's requirement, is better armed and more capable than the earlier proposal.

PT PAL's proposed SSV based on reduced Makassar-class

Indonesia's PT PAL came out with a scale model and specifications of a Strategic Sealift Vessel which it claimed was offered to the PN, and appears to be smaller and shorter than the original Makassar-class based MRV they offered earlier.

PT PAL's specifications for their SSV offer.

It was later reported that the PN was indeed looking into purchasing SSVs, with offers from Japan, Singapore, South Korea, France and Italy, and admittedly smaller than the MRV but is also priced less with a budget of only Php 2 billion each or less than half of that the original MRV. MaxDefense sources have so far only confirmed three of the said offers: Singapore ST Engineering's Endurance 120 series of multi-role vessel; Indonesia PT PAL's SSV-LPD which is a smaller derivative of the Makassar-class; and a special model from Spain's Navantia which is based on Athlas LPD 8000 but is much simpler and smaller.

ST Engineering's Endurance 120 series.
Photo taken from ST Engineering's product brochure.

Although not a real replacement for the old PN LST, another amphibious vessel program was brought out and was successfully completed, the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) program, which is a smaller class than the SSV and MRV. The project was completed as the BRP Tagbanua (AT-296) and the "mysterious" BRP Manobo (BU-297) (to be discussed separately). These are small vessel programs and are not intended to replace the LSTs, but rather fill-in a different requirement.

The BRP Tagbanua (AT-296), the result of the PN LCU project.
Photo taken from Wikimedia

So why did the PN abandoned the MRV program, and instead replaced it with the SSV program?

It appears that the reason for the change of heart by the navy is, again, budgetary issues.

MaxDefense sources indicate that the PN is not really abandoning the MRV program, but will not be pursued for now due to budgetary issues. The budget is available, but is not enough to pursue at least 2 units of the MRV. Operation tempo and availability was considered in opting to have at least 2 units, which actually makes sense to make sure that there is a ship available at any given time.

As of 2012, the DND and PN have already allocated Php 5 billion for the purchase of a single MRV, and was expecting another Php 5 billion for a second unit as it find the need for at least 2 units to complement each other. But with the PN now actively pursuing new surface combatants that can fight opposing forces (OPFOR) warships and patrol the Philippines' EEZ and territorial waters, the second Php 5 billion originally planned to be allocated for another MRV was diverted to fulfill such plans. The second Php 5 billion was instead allocated to the new frigate program. Also, there is no allocated budget for another MRV from the recently approved 2012-2016 Php 75 billion AFP Modernization short term budget, although the government (specifically the President) can provide special allocation to revive the MRV project if necessary.

With only budget for one MRV, the PN decided that it would make use of the allocated Php 5 billion budget to still pursue two ships, thus moving to the cheaper SSV. As the SSV is just a tad smaller and less capable than the MRV, only a few of the original requirements of the PN might be lost, but most of the major functions of the MRV can still be done by the SSV.

Also, the PN will be actively pursuing the construction of more LCUs similar to the already commissioned BRP Tagbanua to fulfill smaller transport requirements. The PN already released a study based on the Desired Force Mix, and it includes the requirement for around 18 LCUs. 

MaxDefense sources have also confirmed the possible purchase of more LSVs similar to the Bacolod City-class in PN service, or new Landing Ships - Tank (LST) from a still undisclosed country, possibly South Korea, giving the PN several options for transport duties should the MRV project fail. These LSVs and LSTs are far cheaper than even the SSV, although are less capable but can still do its job of transporting troops and vehicles. This will all be dependent on the capacity of the government to allocate funds for the PN.

The PN's Bacolod City-class LSV. More can be obtained due to its cheaper cost should budget be a problem for the MRV or even the SSV.
Photo taken from Wikimedia

With the transport capability of the PN depleting rapidly as the old LSTs are getting harder to maintain and becoming less capable, getting new transport and amphibious assault ships is equally as important in getting new fighting ships. Whatever the choices are, the PN will be able to replace its old assets and improve its transport capability in the next few years.

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