Philippine Navy Releases the Basic Requirement for the Horizon 2 Corvette Acquisition Project

MaxDefense has finally received updates on the Philippine Navy's upcoming Corvette Acquisition Project under the Revised AFP Modernization Program's Horizon 2 Phase.

The Philippine Navy provided subtle details of the project during the recently concluded Maritime Security Symposium 2018 held yesterday 11 May 2018 in New World Hotel in Malate, Manila. This is in addition to information gathered by MaxDefense from sources.

This is our 2nd blog entry regarding this upcoming project. Our earlier blog entry, dated 04 October 2017 and the link provided below, discussed our initial assessment of what the Corvette Acquisition Project may be like, an initial forecast on possible contenders, and the possibility of using the Frigate Acquisition Project as basis.

"Philippine Navy Plans to Acquire New Corvettes Under Horizon 2 Modernization Phase" - dated 04 October 2017

Although there's no confirmation yet, MaxDefense believes that Damen may have offered the SIGMA 9813 design (above) or the newer SIGMA 9814 (similar to those originally proposed for Vietnam) for the Philippine Navy's Corvette Acquisition Project. The example above is a SIGMA 9813 corvette operated by the Royal Moroccan Navy.
Photo taken from Damen's website.

7 months later, MaxDefense has a clearer picture of what is expected as there were movements noted on the project. And here are among those updates.




Basic Requirements:

So far the Philippine Navy is expected to have an easier time creating the basic requirements of the Corvettes due to good and bad experiences with the earlier Frigate Acquisition Project under the Horizon 1 phase.

MaxDefense was informed by sources that the Philippine Navy's Technical Working Group (TWG) for the Corvette is being more careful now in formulating the final Technical Specifications to make sure that they have a more airtight requirement and make sure they get the subsystems and design that they really wanted, unless outside intervention from powers that may be happen again.

Here are the Basic Requirements as provided by the Philippine Navy during the Maritime Security Symposium 2018:

- Corvette shall be of proven design (as required by Republic Act 10349);
- Designed to operate in tropic environment, within Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and beyond;
- Fit for service in Surface Warfare (SuW), Anti Air Warfare (AAW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Electronic Warfare (EW) missions;
- Able to survive Sea State 6 or higher;
- Must be able to accommodate AW159 Wildcat or SH-60 Seahawk naval helicopters;
- Endurance of 20 days or longer;
- Displacement between 1,500 to 2,700 tons;
- Length between 80 meters to 105 meters;
- Speed at full displacement at 25 knots or higher;
- Accommodation for 70 personnel or more;
- Ship designed with low Radar Cross-Section (RCS);
- Able to accommodate container mission modules;
- Launch and recovery of two 7-meter RHIBs;
- Satisfy international maritime safety and environmental compliance standard.

Armaments may include:

- Main Gun: 76mm/62 Super Rapid;
- Secondary Gun: 1 x 30mm Machine Gun System;
- 2 x 4 Surface-to-surface Missiles;
- 2 x 8 Surface-to-air Missiles;
- 2 x Triple Torpedo Launchers;
- EW Suite;
- Chaffs and Decoys

Interesting enough is the platform chosen by the PN's TWG for ther illustration: Sweden's Visby-class stealth corvettes built by Saab-Kockums Naval Solutions. 

The corvettes will be under the operational control of the Offshore Combat Force (OCF) of the Philippine Fleet.

This was displayed by the Philippine Navy in the recently concluded Maritime Security Symposium 2018. So far this is the only solid evidence of the Corvette Acquisition Project's basic requirements that is allowed for public consumption.
Photo exclusively shared by a MaxDefense community member who prefers to remain anonymous, credit belongs to him.

MaxDefense's Observation:

Dimensions:

Based on the information above, it is now becoming clear what the future corvettes may look like. Dimension-wise, the TWG is open to have the corvettes to be as large as the Horizon 1 frigates being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, or smaller as long as it meets the requirements.

Being specific on the maximum displacement and length of the ship is something disagreeable since it limits the shipbuilder to the ship's size. MaxDefense bekieves that the Philippine Navy might be trying to make sure that the Horizon 2 Corvette must be a little smaller than the Horizon 1 Frigate to differentiate the two classes of ships from each other.

This also limits the choices to a certain degree, as certain shipbuilders are expected to offer designs that may exceed the required dimensions. For example, the Kamorta-class, in its current design is already longer and heavier than the requirement.



Sensors and Mission Profile:

The sensors requirement is obviously being kept under wraps for now as this is the source of dilemma of the Horizon 1 Frigates, an issue so big that it costed a Philippine Navy chief his job, and the conflict becoming a national issue.

But the presence of a requirement for mission module containers will be a gamechanger. This feature is usually found on European Corvette/OPV designs and may include mission modules for mine warfare and remotely operated vehicle operations, mine laying, unmanned underwater or aerial vehicle operations, extra accommodation for Special Forces, towed array variable depth sonar, Signal or Electronic Intelligence (SIGINT/ELINT), or even oceanography or pollution control / management systems.

The mission module containers may require additional spaces in the ship, either by increasing the ship's length or improving the layout like elevating the helicopter deck and placing the containers below.

This is in addition to its usual missions of SuW, ASW, AAW and EW.

Thales may have another shot in offering the NS100 series AESA air/surface search radars for the corvettes, after being sideswiped by HHI in the PN's Horizon 1 Frigates.
Photo taken from Thales Nederland's website.

Weapons:

Weapons-wise, the Corvette will definitely pack more punch the the Horizon 1 Frigate. It has more anti-ship missile launchers than the Horizon 1 Frigate (although the Horizon 1 Frigate has space allocations for up to 16 anti-ship missile launchers based on the approved CDR drawings). While the Horizon 1 Frigates will be armed with the LIGNex1 SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship cruise missiles, the Philippine Navy previously expressed its interest to use the MBDA MM40 Exocet Block 3 during the FAP's CDR phase. Whatever specifications the TWG will provide may dictate the type of missile to be used for the corvettes.

It also required to use a "Super Rapid" gun, quite odd considering the end user is not allowed to specify a specifc brand since the name "Super Rapid" obviously points to a product made by Italian company Oto Melara, UNLESS they go for a negotiated procurement for this project which is actually possible to shorten and simplify the procurement process and duration. MaxDefense believes it would have been better if the TWG can specify the primary gun to something close to the Oto Melara 76mm/62 Super Rapid Strales, which could be used to defeat supersonic sea-skimming anti-ship missiles using guided ammunition.

MaxDefense believes it would be advance thinking if the PN's TWG could specify the corvette's main gun to be something that points to Oto Melara's 76mm/62 Super Rapid Strales, which can be used to defend the ship from supersonic sea-skimming or ballistic anti-ship missiles.
Credits to owner of the photo.

The requirement for 2 x 8 SAMs is actually odd as well. Based on the current market, most if not all shipbourne SAM systems are launched via Vertical Launching Systems (VLS) which usually comes in capacites of 8 cells.

MaxDefense bekieves that "2 x 8 SAMs" probably means 2 x 8 VLS-launched SAMs.  And this could even be a minimum. The most common that meets this requirement is the MBDA VL-MICA-M which can be launched from a modular proprietary VLS or the Sylver VLS, and the MBDA Aster-15 and Aster-30 surface-to-air missile, which can be launched from the Sylver VLS. The Aster family is quite expensive so MaxDefense believes that this system won't be specified due to cost issues.

Another possibility is having one or two 8-cell VLS firing quadpacked SAMs, which allows the ship to have a maximum of 32 missiles per 8-cell VLS. Among examples of this are the MBDA Sea Ceptor (CAMM) and the Raytheon Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM).

MaxDefense suggests for the specifications to point to a VLS system that can accept not just a specific missile, but can be used to launch most modern missile systems, and can also accept quadpacked missiles. MaxDefense suggests the use of the Lockheed Martin Mk.41 8-cell VLS.
Photo taken from Navy Recognition.

Opening the requirements to just 16 SAMs means that the TWG is open to the use of non-quadpacked missile systems although MaxDefense prefers quadpacked systems, since these anti-air missiles are often used also to defend the ship from incoming sea-skimming or ballistic anti-ship missiles. Having 32 missiles in an 8-cell VLS is a more versatile and future-proof option in my opinion.

Not only did it specify to provide allocation for SAMs, indirectly to VLS based on our assessment above, but it states that the ship should have them when they are delivered, an improvement from the allocation only specs in the Horizon 1 frigates.



Embedded Aircraft and Seacraft:

The RHIB requirement is a sign that the corvettes would be used not only for combat but also for patrol duties. These RHIBs would be used by ship-boarding teams during law enforcement missions.

And the helicopter carrying capacity shows the importance of an embedded aviation asset to enhance the ship's overall capability. Like the Horizon 1 frigates, the corvette is expected to be able to accommodate the Leonardo AW159 Wildcat, the PN's upcoming standard naval combat helicopter, as well as the larger Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk which is the standard naval helicopter of the Philippines' traditional ally the United States, and security partners like Japan and Australia.

If the Philippine Navy decides to acquire the Seahawk in the future, at least the ships are ready to accommodate them too.



Possible Contenders Updated:

As before,MaxDefense mentioned that there were already shipbuilders who made advances to offer their products to the Philippine Navy. These past several months have seen several of them making a more serious offer to the Corvette TWG, which could help shape the Technical Specifications of the corvettes to their favour.

MaxDefense received solid confirmation that among those who already made serious offers are:

- ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) of Germany with their MEKO A100 Corvette family,
- Damen of the Netherlands with their Sigma family,
- Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of South Korea with a modified design based on the PN Horizon 1 frigates that they are building,
- Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) with their a modified Kamorta-class design,
- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) with a new design based on the larger Daegu-class frigates;

MaxDefense was also told that other shipbuilders like Naval Group of France, Navantia of Spain, Saab Kockums Naval Solutions of Sweden, and Goa Shipyards of India have shown interest to submit their offers.

TKMS previously joined the Horizon 1 Frigate Acquisition Project but didn't make it to the 2nd stage bidding. The shipbuilder currently utilizes the A100 Corvette design, which can be modified to suite the end user's requirements. But according to several Navy and industry sources, usually TKMS' pricing is on the high side. TKMS previously indicated their possible agreement to local construction of the corvettes and other potential ship projects in the Philippines.

TKMS has several variants of the MEKO A100 Corvette design, among them the A100 Patrol Corvette which allows mission module containers, and a dimension that isn't too large.
Photo taken from Navy Recognition.

Damen is a newcomer in the Philippines, but their tie-up with local naval contractor Propmech Corporation may be helpful. Their offer for the corvette will definitely be from their Sigma family line of light naval warships. Although there is no confirmation, MaxDefense believes that their offer could be based on the Sigma 9813 design, or the 9814 design based on balance of size and meeting the basic requirements of the PN. 

Damen offered the Sigma 9814 design to Vietnam, which did not push through as Vietnam decided to purchase more Russian-made Gepard-class light frigates instead. MaxDefense believes that Damen's offer may not exceed a length of 100 meters to keep the price within the PN's budget.
Photo credited to Quôc Phòng Viêt Nam.

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), despite the strong sentiments against them for the mess surrounding the Frigate Acquisition Project, is still a strong contender for the Corvette Acquisition Project, as they are already entrenched with the local defense officials and PN officers including its chief. Apparently HHI offered to use a slightly modified version of the Horizon 1 Frigate, tweaked to "meet the requirements", if they know how to do it. Some officers in the Philippine Navy already voiced out their concern that since the frigates have not yet been tested in actual conditions, they have some concerns that the design may not be as good as expected, and gambling the Corvettes for the same hull may be a potential issue. 

The offer made by HHI is said to be similar to that of the frigates they are building for the PN, with some modifications, and "improved" subsystems based on the final specs. With HHI breaching technical specifications in the frigate project, MaxDefense worries that they will do it again in the Corvette Acquisition Project, especially if the same people are in power in the DND and PN. Above is the updated illustration of the subsystems to be installed on the frigate as approved during the Critical Design Review phase of the Frigate Acquistion Project.
CGI originally from HHI, illustration created jointly by MaxDefense and Pitz Defense Analysis.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), the lowest bidder of the Horizon 1 Frigate Acquisition Program, returns with vengeance after that bittersweet steal by HHI when they were found to be non-complying to financial requirements of the project. According to sources, GRSE's offer is practically the same as their original offer for the Horizon 1 Frigate based on a modified Kamorta-class hull. It should be noted that for the Horizon 1 Frigate, they offered a full-Thales sensor and communication suite and MBDA MM40 Exocet anti-ship missiles, which they might do again in addition to the new requirements. MaxDefense hopes that the accident in GRSE's yard last month would not affect the capability to receive new contracts and build them according to schedule.





Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has been aggressive lately, even having the chance to meet PN and DND officials during their visits to South Korea. There's no accurate take on what DSME offered for the Corvette Acquisition Project, but it may not be far from the Corvette design it offered to Malaysia a few years ago aside from adjustments to make it bigger to accommodate the requirements of the PN. DSME is still under the watch of Korea Eximbank after having financial struggles in the past few years, so DSME may have troubles in meeting financial requirements if the project undergoes public bidding.

DSME offered this design to Malaysia a few years ago before cancelling their plans to acquire corvettes. MaxDefense believes that a modification of this design, lengthened to accommodate the requirements of the PN, might be the one offered by DSME for the Corvette Acquisition Project.
Photo taken from Navy Recognition.

While it is not confirmed if they submitted, Saab-Kockums Naval Solutions seems to have the corvette that the PN TWG have in mind: the Next Generation Corvette design. Based on the basic specs posted by Saab in their website, the ship meets almost all if not all of the basic requirements of the Corvette Acquisition Project.

Saab's Next Generation Corvette was spec'd almost similarly to the basic requirements of the PN's Corvette Acquisition Project. MaxDefense believes that the TWG may have used this as their initial basis although it is unclear yet if Saab did made a serious offer to the PN TWG.
Photo taken from Saab's website.

Project Status:


With the Corvette Acquisition Project already brewing, what's the status of the Horizon 2 Acquisition Plan for the AFP? As of our last check a few days before this writing, it is still not signed by Pres. Duterte, aside from those he gave in-principle approval last November 2017.

Sadly, the Corvette Acquisition Project is not one of those approved in-principle, so we'll have to wait a little longer since the project should be approved either as part of the entire Horizon 2 Acquisition Plan, or on its own, before any SARO of funding can be released by the Department of Budget Management, and before the Technical Working Group can proceed with the procurement process.

Based on documents obtained from the DND, the Corvette Acquisition Project is planned to be paid via Multi-Year Obligation Authority (MYOA), or in layman's term, instalment payment. The plan is to pay for them using funds sourced outside the annual General Appropriations to the AFP Modernization Program, and would be paid for from 2019 to 2022 in increasing amounts.

With this, it is expected that the project is planned to be ready for contract signing by 2019, and may benefit from lessons learned from the Horizon 1 Frigate Acquisition Project. MaxDefense believes it is highly possible for the project to be acquired via Negotiated Procurement or Government-to-Government to reduce time and red tape involved in public bidding.

But until then, the PN TWG still has time to finalize its Technical Specifications as well as all the necessary pre-procurement processes and documentation so when the project is approved for implementation, its ready for procurement phase.



Summary:

Corvette Acquisition Project

Quantity: 2 brand new units
End User: Philippine Navy (Offshore Combat Force)
Modernization Phase: Revised AFP Modernization Program HORIZON 2 (Priority List)
ABC (Proposed): Php28,000,000,000.00
SARO Release: none yet
Winning Proponent: none yet
Contract Price: none yet
First post by MaxDefense: 30 December 2017



MaxDefense will be at the forefront on any updates regarding the Corvette Acquisition Program, a very important if not the most important warship acquisition project in the Horizon 2 phase of the RAFPMP.

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Philippine Navy Plans to Acquire New Corvettes under Horizon 2 Modernization Phase

As the Horizon 1 phase of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program setting in the next 2 months, the entire AFP including all its service branches are now preparing for their program line-up for acquisition under the Horizon 2 phase, which covers the years 2018 to 2022.

The Philippine Navy (PN) is determined to move ahead with its own Horizon 2 procurement plans, despite the setback it is facing due to the difficulties in finalizing the critical design of two brand new frigates it will acquire from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of South Korea due to issues that deserve its own discussion. 

Moving ahead (for now), MaxDefense has been continuously monitoring the proposals submitted by the different service branches these past several months, which is now broken down to yearly requests based on a program for the entire Horizon. Several projects look promising depending on the National Government's willingness to provide the funding.

One of these projects coming from the Philippine Navy that is being requested for funding under CY 2018 is for the acquisition of a Corvette.

NOTE: This project is still in the proposal stage, and would require approval from the National Government for the budget to be allocated, although the chances that this would become a reality is pretty high, even after some budget reduction, based on MaxDefense's own assessment.

TKMS has released new iterations of the MEKO A100 Corvette design, shown with either the "Energy Saving Hull Design" or the conventional hull design.
Photo taken from NavyRecognition.com.

Corvette Acquisition Project:

Currently this proposed project has no name yet, which MaxDefense conveniently named as the "Proposed Corvette Acquisition Project" for discussion purposes, which is based on how the DND and PN named the Frigate project before.

While there are not much details about the project, the budget proposed for this acquisition may say a lot of things due to the experiences the PN and groups like ours in the FAP.

For CY 2018, the request is for funding for 1 Corvette with an initial proposed ABC of Php 9,000,000,000.00 as of August 2017, but increased to Php14,000,000,000.00 by September 2017 Is the figure familiar?

It should be, because at Php 9 billion a piece, it is exactly the same amount allocated by the DND and PN for each of the FAP frigates to be built by HHI! For those who are not familiar, the FAP was divided into 2 parts: Lot 1 with a budget of Php16 billion is for the acquisition of 2 frigate platforms, while Lot 2 with a budget of Php2 billion is for the acquisiton of ammunition (missiles, torpedoes, gun ammunition, and countermeasure rounds).

But now at Php14 billion each ($274 million at US$1 = Php51), it is now costlier than the FAP frigates!

Based on this information alone, MaxDefense can gauge what we could expect of the corvette, just by basing it on the history of the FAP project.

GRSE is said to be among those expected to provide an offer, possibly with an improved version of the original offer it made during the FAP's procurement stages. GRSE previously mentioned that it was offering a design based on the Indian Navy's Kamorta-class large anti-submarine corvettes, which are large ships compared to those offered by European shipbuilders.
Credits to owner of photo.

Possible Contenders:

While budget is still being proposed and still for requesting, the PN already started getting Request for Information, Proposals, and Quotations (RFI, RFP, RFQ respectively) from different shipbuilders, but probably this would not include HHI, which according to our sources, the PN doesn't want to deal with for now.

Among those MaxDefense expects to provide their proposals to the PN are those who competed for the FAP and lost. This may include Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineering (GRSE) of India, who is confident to provide a frigate/corvette warship at a price lower than the proposed ABC. Other shipbuilders may include former FAP contenders ThyssenKrupp Marine Shipbuilding (TKMS) of Germany and Navantia of Spain, as well as newcomers like Damen of the Netherlands and The Naval Group (formerly DCNS) of France. Other Korean shipbuilders may also give interest including Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) and STX.

  

MaxDefense expects Dutch shipbuilder Damen to join the game and offer their SIGMA series of corvette design.
Photo taken from Damen's website.

Comparing to the Frigate Acquisition Project:

Depending on how we interpret the budget being requested for the Corvette, MaxDefense believes that the PN would specify their Corvette at a higher league than the FAP Frigates, and may have a higher level of sensor and firepower requirement as originally envisioned for the FAP. Even if the platform is smaller than the frigates to be built by HHI, the PN may have no issues with them as long as it meets certain requirements.

Take note that during the early stages of the FAP procurement phase, both Navantia and TKMS offered a platform that is smaller than the design proposed by HHI. And although the PN's preference was for a larger platform considering they were in the market for a frigate wherein a larger platform is better to allow future capabilities to be added later on, the PN was open to the proposals of TKMS and Navantia.

TKMS previously disclosed to MaxDefense that their offer was based on their MEKO A100 corvette design, which is less than 100 meters long and displaces around 2,400 tons at full load. Meanwhile, Navantia's proposal for FAP was made known in a public post they made a few years ago, with a platform based on their Avante 2200 Combatant corvette. It has similarities in dimension to TKMS' offer, with less than 100 meters long and displaces at around 2,500 tons at full load. In comparison, HHI's offer which is based on their HDF-3000 light frigate design, is a little over 105 meters long and may displace at around 3,000 tons at full load.

Budget issue was a problem with the FAP which made shipbuilders cut down their design just to meet the costs, while discouraging other shipbuilders especially European and American ones from joining. But even with a low budget with the FAP, it should be remembered that GRSE, the lowest bidder during the FAP's Lot 1 (Platform) 2nd stage bidding, was able to bid for a light frigate with dimensions larger than that of Hyundai's FAP proposal, and with respectable sensors and weapons suite for around Php7.6 billion each (without ammunition). MaxDefense sources privy to the FAP confirmed that until recently, GRSE confirmed that they can still deliver a FAP contender for less than HHI's contract price, and with a better weapons and sensor suite than what HHI has been pushing the PN and DND to accept.

Recap on GRSE's FAP Proposal as Baseline:

To give a baseline on what Php 9 billion can buy, let's use GRSE's submitted proposal for the FAP as basis.

For those who have not read this before, please feel free to check our previous blog entry discussing the FAP's weapons system proposal from HHI and GRSE:

"The Philippine Navy's Future Frigate from Hyundai: Discussing the Ship's Design and Some of its Expected Subsystems" - dated September 3, 2016

At a little over Php 7.6 billion a ship (without ammunition), GRSE's FAP proposed include a full sensors and communication suite from Thales, 4 tubes of MM40 Exocet anti-ship and two twin Simbad RC-Mistral VSHORAD missile launchers from MBDA, two triple torpedo launchers from SEA, a 76mm Oto Melara Super Rapid primary and a 30mm Oto Melara Hitfist secondary guns, and a platform based on the Kamorta-class large anti-submarine corvette, which is large enough and worthy to be called a light frigate.

Even HHI, despite their attempts to short-change the PN, is still capable of providing a light frigate for Php 7.95 billion (without ammunition) using sensors and weapons system that have lesser performance than those they originally offered, or to those offered by GRSE.

Originally posted in MaxDefense in October 2016 in collaboration with Pitz Defense Analysis (who assisted in the labelling), here is the ORIGINAL proposal submitted by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the PN's frigate. Note that many of the items there are to be replaced with a less performing subsystems. But this provides an insight on what the PN may specify for their Corvette Project.
Original photo from Hyundai, labels from MaxDefense and Pitz Defense Analysis.

It would be remembered that both Navantia and STX attempted to submit a bid for the FAP's 2nd stage bidding, but failing only due to technicalities. But knowing that the ABC for the FAP Lot 1 was only Php 16 billion for 2 ships, it means that they are willing to meet the budget for their proposals.

MaxDefense believes that the PN may have also realized that Php2 billion allocated for ammunition of 2 light frigates may not be enough.

But with a Php14 billion budget, this becomes a game changer as shipbuilders won't need to hold back as much like what happened in the FAP, while also opening the chance fornother shipbuilders to join.

MaxDefense believes that with the budget, a ship similar in size as the HHI proposal for FAP can be attained, while giving enough budget to not downgrade the sensors system like what happened on the FAP. It also allows the installation of items considered as "Fitted for but now with" (FFBNW) items in the FAP like Towed Array Sonar System (TASS), Vertical Launch System (VLS), and Close-in Weapon System (CIWS).

MaxDefense also believes that ammunition will be included in the Php14 billion budget.

Another possibility on the use of the extra budget is for the shipbuilder to also provide a Technology Transfer and allow the ship to be built in the Philippines. The tech transfer is not free so a portion of the budget might be allocated for such arrangement.

This could allow the PN to build the 1st corvette, and any succeeding unit locally, benefitting the Philippine shipbuilding industry and allowing it to prepare for future warship requirements like the proposed Frigates under Horizon 2 phase.

Slap on Hyundai's Face:

MaxDefense believes that this Corvette Acquisition Project is now being used by the Philippine Navy as a "Plan B" for their Frigates, should they not be able to get them according to what they wanted it to be.

It would be remembered that originally, the PN was raising the possibility to have a 3rd frigate that could be awarded to Hyundai to probably sweeten the deal. But HHI's post-contract actions could have made the PN decide to cancel that option, and instead create a new project that could turn out better than the FAP.

Also, while there is only 1 Corvette being requested for CY 2018, MaxDefense was able to get hold of the latest Horizon 2 plan of the Philippine Navy. And it appears that they are planning to have 2 Corvettes for acquisition within the Horizon 2 phase, and this 1st unit was probably pushed forward to catch-up with the FAP's delivery schedule. The PN may opt to have a contract for 1 ship with options for 1 more.

And aside from the Corvette, the PN is planning to have another 2 frigates for funding within Horizon 2, and learning from their mistakes on the FAP, the proposed budget for each frigate is now Php 18 billion, or double that of the FAP. Look at what you will miss, HHI, is these projects are approved for funding!

The only worry many officers in the PN have is if certain personalities in the Department of National Defense (DND), specifically those who protected HHI instead of defending what is best for the PN, may once again use their power and influence to dictate to the PN what they should acquire. And this is the reason why MaxDefense believes that, learning from the past, the PN may now instead pre-select subsystems to be used instead of relying on shipbuilders to propose the subsystems themselves.

Its either the PN would procure the subsystems itself, or they will specify to the shipbuilders the exact subsystems that they wanted their ships to have. This gives the shipbuilders clearer parameters, and all they need to do is create a platform based on those subsystems. It also levels the playing field while also keeping certain people in the DND to be hands off the project. 

The lessons it learned from the Frigate Acquisition Project (FAP) may allow the PN to make their future acquisitions more responsive to their needs, hopefully without the meddling and interference by some groups within the DND who placed their personal interests first before assisting the PN get the best equipment the government can buy.

How about the Procurement of Multi Purpose Patrol Vessel?

With the Corvette being prepped by the PN for acquisition, what happens then to the Multi-Purpose Patrol Vessel (MPPV), which MaxDefense previously reported as among those being eyed from procurement soon.

According to sources, the PN is temporarily shelving this program, and may opt to raise it again for CY 2019 or 2020, as they are trying to give importance to heavier firepower by upgrading existing assets first. 

As mentioned in our FB page a few days ago, the PN is also trying to secure funding for the weapon system upgrade of all 3 Del Pilar-class frigates with a proposed budget of Php 15 billion, and the upgrade of the Pohang-class corvette that is expected to join the fleet early next year with a proposed budget of Php 6.2 billion.

Let's see what happens if the PN will be successful in securing budget for these multi-billion peso projects, considering that the current administration prefers internal security matters. It would be best for the PN to defend their requests by relating these projects into internal security operations, just for the sake of getting the funds they need.

The PN is shelving the MPPV project for now, while focusing on the Corvette, and other PN projects that are more relevant to the times. Money will also be needed to upgrade the upcoming Pohang-class corvette which is expect to enter service by early 2018.
Credits to owner of photo.

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Unannounced and Upcoming Ship Retirements with the Philippine Navy - BRP Iloilo, BRP Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo and BRP Rajah Humabon

MaxDefense has consistently been discussing the impending retirement of older assets as they become less capable in safely and efficiently conducting their duties to secure and defend the Philippines' territorial waters, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and interests in the East and West Philippine Seas. As a ship ages, the hull becomes more stressed and its technology becomes obsolete.There will come a time where repair and replacement becomes financially not viable, or sometimes even impossible due to excessive damage or stress.

Japanese sailors return the salute to the men and women of BRP Rajah Humabon (PS-11) during a recent Passing Exercise (PASSEX) with the JMSDF. It also is a way of saying "Thank You" and "Goodbye", something related to the upcoming retirement of the ship.
Photo taken from the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's FB page.

As we speak, the Philippine Navy is not only having rapidly ageing, or too aged ships and equipment in its fleet and arsenal, but also reduced numbers due to retirement without replacement. MaxDefense last reported about the retirement of BRP Iloilo (PS-32), which MaxDefense sources confirmed to have happened in September 2016. The BRP Iloilo is a Miguel Malvar-class patrol vessel / Patrol Craft Escort (PCE) which was in service with the Philippine Navy from 1948 to 2016, and was indirectly replaced by the Del Pilar-class frigate BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17) which was commissioned on July 2016. But in reality the Andres Bonifacio is actually an asset which was supposed to increase the fleet numbers of the Philippine Navy to what it was in the 1980s when it has more than 6 "frigates" (consisting of destroyer escorts and high endurance cutters) at its disposal.

The BRP Iloilo (PS-32), which was seen here as of February 2017 without its weapon and sensors systems, and was said to awaiting disposal as its useful parts were "transplanted" to its active sisterships. The ships was confirmed by sources as decommissioned in September 2016.
Photo credited and owned by Cdr. Alfred  Kenneth Tingabngab, PN (ret.), who allowed us to be used @ MaxDefense Philippines, and first appeared in our Facebook page post last February 6, 2017.

But it appears that no major publicly available media outlet or website, not even MaxDefense Philippines, was able to report on the retirement of another asset of the Philippine Navy, specifically the Littoral Combat Force (LCF) which is in charge of inshore naval patrol and support.



Retirement of BRP Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo (PG-140)

With the shoulder-tap from one of our community member - contributor who shared a photo, MaxDefense Philippines checked with sources to confirm what appears to be another Philippine Navy ship that is stripped off its weapons and appears to be in very poor physical condition and awaiting disposal.

The BRP Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo (PG-140) seen here in better times in June 2011.
Photo owned and credited to Mr, James Gabriel Verallo, and was taken from his Flickr account.

It turns out, and confirmed by naval sources of MaxDefense, that the BRP Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo (PG-140), the lead ship and last ship remaining in service of the Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo-class inshore patrol vessel, has already been decommissioned from Philippine Navy service. While there is no confirmation yet on the actual date of decommissioning, it could have happened sometime in mid 2016 based on the information below.

BRP Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo was shown here as of June 7, 2017 in Cebu. It was already stripped off its weapon systems, and still useful parts that could be used by other ships in the fleet.
Photo owned and credited to ship spotter MBB8356 / Mark Baylon, whose photos were taken from his Flickr page.

Another check of photos from our contributor showed that the ship appears to still be with complete weapons and sensors systems, even up to the bridge glass curtains as of April 2015.

It appears that there were already pre-cursor information that we have received as early as April 2016 in our MaxDefense Philippines @ Facebook community page, wherein one of our community members who worked on the assessment of the ship's condition confirmed that the BRP Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo has a very poor hull condition, and was checked as having thousands of holes in its hull while dry-docked in Cebu. A photo of the PG-140's hull was shared by one of our MaxDefense community members but we believe it is best not to post it publicly. Prior to its dry-docking, the ship was said to have been stripped off its weapons and sensors, conducted build-up welding to keep her afloat, and was towed from Cavite to Cebu. This could have been a reason for its sudden retirement, as the ship is considered unsafe to use.

Considering that the photo above of the stripped PG-140 which was also taken in Cebu, the ship did not sail anymore since then and was just brought to its current resting place while awaiting for decision on how to dispose the hull.

BRP Hen. Emilio Aguinaldo is seen here with BRP Boni Serrano (PG-111) in Cebu as of April 2015. Back then she appears to still be in service put is limited in conducting patrols within calmer interior waters.
Photo owned and credited to Mr. John Carlos Cabanillas, whose photo was taken from his Flickr page.

Upcoming Retirement of BRP Rajah Humabon:

As early as last year, MaxDefense has already mentioned in some of its comment posts in the MaxDefense Philippines @ Facebook community page, that there were already unconfirmed information coming out that BRP Rajah Humabon (PS-11) the former flagship of the Philippine Navy, will be the next to retire.

As confirmed by several MaxDefense sources, this plan to retire the old rajah from service is finally coming into reality.

The Philippine Navy is scheduled to finally decommission the 74-year old destroyer escort by 4th quarter of 2017, most probably between September and November 2017.

The BRP Rajah Humabon is formerly the US Navy destroyer escort USS Atherton. In this photo, USS Atherton was seen in action during World War 2, dropping depth charges while hunting for the German submarine U-853, which she is credited of destroying. This makes the ship among the only active warship in the world credited of sinking an enemy submarine.
Photo taken from DESAUSA.org's website.

Signs were already coming out of her impending retirement, including the bypass of her scheduled dry-docking which should have been made either in 2015 or 2016. In comparison, as mentioned in our posts a few days ago at the MaxDefense Philippines @ Facebook page, the scheduled dry-docking of BRP Pangasinan (PS-31), BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20) and BRP Sultan Kudarat (PS-22) were signs that they would be staying in service longer. The Philippine Navy would not spend more money on ships that are retiring anytime, and the release of Invitation to Bid to dry-dock and repair them confirms their continued service.

Another sign happened last year, when the Philippine Navy started implementing a new hull numbering and classification system. The new classification downgraded the BRP Rajah Humabon from a frigate (PF-11) to a patrol vessel (PS-11), instead of retaining it as a frigate with the anticipated hull number FF-11.

Based on information received by MaxDefense, the BRP Rajah Humabon is currently operating only as a ceremonial ship used to welcome visiting foreign warships entering Manila Bay, represent the Philippine Navy in PASSEX, and is used as a training ship.

The BRP Rajah Humabon (PS-11) as seen here conducting Passing Exercises (PASSEX) with the JS Izumo, currently Japan's largest warship, just before it leaves the Philippines a few days ago. BRP Rajah Humabon was also the PN ship that escorted the Japanese flotilla when it arrived for a goodwill visit to the Philippines.
Photo taken from Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's FB page.

The ship was found to be beyond economic repair, as signs of ageing has already affected the integrity of the ship's hull and frame, as well as on the actual physical condition of the ship. This is not to mention the obsolescence of all its working subsystems including weapons, sensors, mechanical and electrical, electronics, and hydraulics.

Another reason to retire the ship is more of an emotional decision, to drive the Philippine Navy to strive harder in acquiring newer assets and modernize the fleet. It is a sign of renewal in the Philippine Navy's mindset of maintaining obsolete assets instead of replacing them with new ones.

The impending retirement is also in anticipation on the arrival of the Philippine Navy's upcoming new asset, the Pohang-class corvette formerly known as ROKS Chungju of the Republic of Korea Navy, which is also scheduled to arrive sometime between September and October 2017.

There is currently no information yet on what the Philippine Navy intends to do with the ship once it retires, despite calls by many enthusiasts and former crew members of the ship (while in service with the US Navy and Philippine Navy, and probably with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force where she served after World War 2) to convert her into a museum or display ship. Based on observations alone, it is highly unlikely to be converted to a museum, as it means the Philippine Navy will be pushed to allocate funding to it while they are already having problems obtaining funding for active serving warships to be at sea.

Below is a video taken and posted by David Grindley on Youtube, showing the BRP Rajah Humabon (PS-11) entering Subic Bay. This is probably among the last pristine video you may find of the ship as it goes for retirement in a few months time.

MaxDefense will definitely post any updates on the BRP Rajah Humabon's retirement, as well as any other related information to the plan, which will be made available in our Facebook community page.

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Used Warships as Stop Gap Measures to Replace World War 2 Assets of the Philippine Navy

As part of its plans to improve and renew its fleet of ships at the fastest possible time, the Philippine Navy is embarking on the possible acquisition of used naval warships from friendly countries. These has been happening for some time now, starting with the acquisition of three Hamilton-class high endurance cutters from the US Coast Guard, and five Balikpapan-class heavy landing crafts from the Royal Australian Navy.

Recently, MaxDefense discussed that the Philippine Navy is planning to acquire a new fleet of Multi-Purpose Patrol Vessels which would eventually replace all World War 2-era warships of the fleet, while be able to conduct patrols even on offshore territorial and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the country. But because of time to plan, formulate, tender, award, and construct the new ships, it is expected that the first ships can only enter service with the Philippine Fleet by 2019 at the earliest.

With the need for new ships immediately needed, the Philippine Navy will have to adjust and acquire assets that can be used in the short-medium term to improve its capabilities, while also allowing to have more assets to train with as the Philippine Navy schedules the arrival of new assets in the next several years.

Aside from the Hamilton-class cutters from the US (which are now known collectively as the Del Pilar-class frigates), the other options are smaller in size but with comparable capabilities in some way or another. Those already made known to MaxDefense and clear for public knowledge will be the only ones discussed here.


Background:

Based on the Philippine Navy's own Sail Plan 2020, the organization intends to retire all warships from the World War 2-era by 2020. But by law, only when new assets to replace the old ones are available can the Navy retire their assets.

Originally the plan is to acquire brand new Multi-Purpose Patrol Vessels, which was among those new directions provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in line with the new policies of Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

As of 2017, MaxDefense was informed by its sources that the Philippine Navy has not yet made concrete moves to solidify its plan to acquire brand new patrol vessels, except for a formal offer made by Israel Shipyard last August 2016. wherein they proposed to sell an Offshore Patrol Vessel variant of their Sa'ar 72 design.

Even if the Philippine Navy approves the acquisition of a couple of ships, it would take around 3 years for them to receive the ships, which is too late if they intend to follow their plan of retiring all 9 WW2 warships currently in service by 2020.

Thus, the Philippine Navy has opened the possibilities of acquiring used but still capable warships from friendly countries to speed-up the retirement process, as this is the fastest option available to bring in newer ships into the fleet.




Philippine Navy's Parameters:

Based on the information and records obtained by MaxDefense, an analysis can be made to determine the parameters in which the Philippine Navy will be considering any proposal to acquire used warships from other countries.

First and foremost are the age and the general condition of the ship/s. The PN would like the ships to only require minimal refurbishing works for the hull and superstructure, as well as for the mechanical and electrical systems of the ship. The less time at drydock and less expenses, the better.

Another main consideration is cost. How much will the ship's overall cost be, including acquiring the ship itself, refurbishing and rehabilitation cost, replacement of obsolete or damaged systems, and logistics and support concerns. At this point, the PN has very limited funds that they can use for this, and is also facing funding problems for any other upgrade it wishes to conduct for these ships.

Time to bring to full operation is another factor, that is also related to the general condition of the ships, and the amount of money to be spent. The lesser the needed for dockwork means lesser costs too. The support of the vendor country's government is also important especially in providing the training with the vendor country's navy allows for ease of transfer at less time possible.

Another important factor is the presence of anti-submarine warfare capability, specifically more on having the detection capability using Sonar. These ships are expected to be training platforms too for personnel to be assigned on the PN's future frigate, which are equipped with anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Currently, it was made known to MaxDefense that the PN has almost nill ASW capability and experience to say off, with most of its officers and men previously rated for sonar and ASW already retired from the service for years.

The Philippine Navy is eyeing at least two ships as an initial requirement, with a follow-on third or even fourth unit being considered should funding become available.



Choices of the Philippine Navy:

Based on costs, it appears that there are only a few choices for the Philippine Navy to pick, even though there are many countries who appear to have excess warships that could be available for sale. Italy, for example, are selling their warships at a price way above the allocated budget of the PN, so their warships are out of the possible options.

So far, only 2 options were made known to MaxDefense as of late, although it is highly doubtful that there are any other options at the moment aside from these.


1. Joao Coutinho-class and Baptista de Andrade-class patrol corvettes from Portugal

Discussed on MaxDefense as early as December of last year, we reported that the Portuguese government has offered to sell some of their Joao Coutinho-class and Baptista de Andrade-class patrol corvettes to the Philippine Navy.

Both classes are retired, or being progressively retired from the Portuguese Navy, and will be available for transfer to any interested buyer very soon. In the Philippine context, both ship classes were inspected by officers from the Philippine Navy to determine their actual condition, and their viability for transfer. There are currently 3 Baptista de Andrade-class ships and at least 4 Joao Coutinho-class ships that are available according to MaxDefense sources. Both ship classes are not in service with the Portuguese Navy anymore, being retired a few years ago and are maintained in port while waiting for a buyer.

The Joao Countinho-class (top) and the Baptista de Andrade-class (above) were both evaluated by the Philippine Navy for suitability to their needs for patrol vessels that can immediately replace World War 2-era assets still used by the fleet.

Based on the reports from the Joint Visual Inspection team that were sent to Portugal, the Baptista de Andrade-class are in less favourable condition than the older Joao Coutinho-class ships, and the recommendation is to forego the Baptista de Andrade-class in favour of the Joao Coutinho-class.

The ships will need refurbishing and some repair work before the actual transfer to the Philippine Navy, should it proceed with the acquisition. Among those that will require overhaul and repair works include the hull, the diesel engines, several mechanical system, and the guns and weapons mount itself.

Other works need to be done including installing a new generator and power management systems, navigation radar system, and several other electrical and electronic systems that are already beyond their lifespans or are obsolete.

The offer made by the Portuguese government for the ships are reasonable enough, since it will also include the education and training of Philippine Navy crewmembers and maintenance teams, spare parts and logistics support, and billeting in Portugal. MaxDefense won't mention the amount, but we can guarantee that it is affordable for the Philippine Navy.

The helicopter landing deck on the Joao Coutinho-class, small as it seems, is still an added feature and will be sufficient enough to allow the ship to operate PN's AW-109 Power naval helicopters, as well as ship-launched drones that allows an increase in its visual surveillance range.

The Joao Coutinho-class have been in service with the Portuguese Navy since 1970, only a few years younger than the Hamilton-class cutters acquired from the US. They were designed in Portugal and built in Spain and Germany.

They are armed with mostly similar weapons systems as the Philippine Navy's World War 2 assets, including Mk. 33 twin 76mm guns, and Bofors L70 40mm twin AA guns.  The Philippine Navy has no problem operating and maintaining these weapons systems due to being familiar with them. The ships currently do not have any anti-submarine warfare system which were removed due to obsolescence and were not replaced.

The ships are powered by OEW Pielstick diesel engines, which is not new to the Philippine Navy either. The ships also do not possess advanced electronic machinery control systems, and any other advanced electronic systems that control much of the ship's operation. This means that there is nothing new for the Philippine Navy to learn much from.

The presence of a helicopter deck is also an added plus, which will allow the ship to limitedly operate PN aviation assets like the AW-109 Power naval helicopters that can increase the ship's capability.

In short, these ships are primarily newer replacements for the older World War 2-era ships, and are good force additions to a depleted fleet, and short-term replacements while new ships are being prepared for delivery to the Philippine Navy.

Based on the reports made by the PN JVI team, the ship hulls are being offered for free by the Portuguese government, and any other refurbishing, repair and rehabilitation work will be done in Portugal. The ships are found to still be good for use for at least 15 years, which complies to the procurement laws of the government which applies to military assets too. Should the Philippine Navy give a go-signal to acquire the ships by March 2017, they stand to bring these ships into active duty by 3rd or 4th quarter of 2017 at the earliest.

2. Pohang-class combat corvettes from South Korea

This appears to be our latest entry regarding the status of the offers made by South Korea for Pohang-class corvettes for the Philippine Navy.

As many MaxDefense readers already know, this class has been among the most talked-about among defense enthusiasts and navy officials, and was already made known to public as early as 2014. Previously it was also made known in several sources that the Philippine Navy will be getting the former ROKS Mokpo, a Flight II Pohang-class corvette retired from the Republic of Korea Navy some years ago.

As of the latest information received by MaxDefense, the former ROKS Mokpo is out of the running in the Philippine Navy, after the ship was evaluated by officials to be in very poor condition, and will not be feasible for refurbishing and rehabilitation back into service. It was also found to lack the anti-submarine warfare capability that the PN needs to train its personnel in preparation for the upcoming future frigates it will be receiving from Hyundai Heavy Industries. It was made known to MaxDefense that the former ROKS Mokpo is now being offered to other countries, which mentioned Peru as among the possible takers.

Instead, the Korean government has a renewed offering to the Philippines, which now involves the proposed transfer of at least three Flight III or newer Pohang-class corvettes, with an initial 2 units readily available for refurbishing works at any notice, and a third unit to be made available should the option be accepted by the Philippine Navy.

Based on these information alone, it appears that the ships being offered are already retired from service and are just awaiting for any eventuality. The Republic of Korea Navy's records mention that at least three Flight III ships were retired from service in the past few months, namely ROKS Gimcheon (PCC-761), ROKS Chungju (PCC-762) and ROKS Jinju (PCC-763). All others Flight III ships or newer are still in service with the ROKN but are also expected to be retired soon with the arrival of new FFX-2 frigates to replace them.

ROKS Jinju (PCC-763), a Pohang-class Flight III corvette of the South Korean Navy, was recently retired and is among those possibly offered to the Philippine Navy.
Photo credited to ShipSpotting.com website.

These were later backed by information from MaxDefense sources, although it would be best not to be very specific, for now, on the ships being offered, as it might affect any discussions ongoing between the Philippine and South Korean governments.

The Flight III ships are not yet inspected by the Philippine Navy as of this writing, but it was disclosed by sources that the ships are in far better condition than the former ROKS Mokpo. The ships also have working ASW capability, although it was recommended that replacement of the systems be made in the long run. The ships won't be armed with missiles as many expect, but the ships can be easily be installed with better sensors, guidance, and weapons systems in the future. It is also expected that the ship's weapons and sensors systems will remain, although some will require replacement soon. It is still up to the PN's joint visual inspection team to submit a report and recommendation on their findings of the ship's overall condition, so nothing can be finalized for now.

It is strongly expected that the hulls itself will be offered to the Philippine Navy for free, but any refurbishing, repair and rehabilitation work will be paid for, and will be done in Korean shipyards and using Korean subsystems.

The Flight III Pohang-class are armed with two Oto Melara 76mm Compact naval gun, two Breda 40mm twin guns. It is also equipped with two triple trainable Mk. 32 lightweight torpedo launchers, which are expected to remain should the ship be transferred to the PN.

The ships are also powered by a LM2500 gas turbine, which is more powerful and newer than the Del Pilar-class' P&W FT4A gas turbines. Operating and maintaining this could be an issue, although it is expected that personnel with gas turbine ratings on the FT4A will be given the slot to train for the LM2500 since they already have the base knowledge needed.

They are built in the late 1980s and are far younger than many of the PN's major naval assets. It is expected that the PN will need more transition training to operate the Pohang-class compared to

Overall, the Pohang-class are much newer, more capable, and more advanced than the Joao Coutinho-class, and can fill-in a lot of gaps in the PN's capability. They are also more complicated that will require more attention in terms of preparation, training, and maintenance. These ships are not just good replacements for the World War 2-era assets of the PN, but can also be used as force multipliers to also bridge the PN to future advanced warships.


Note: MaxDefense has a previous blog entry discussing the entire Pohang-class, including the differences between Flights, and their fit and capabilities. You can access it on the link provided below:

"Overview on ROKN's Pohang-class Corvettes, and Transfer of 1 ship to the PN" - dated June 8, 2014.

The Pohang-class' twin 40mm guns and mount are something new to the Philippine Navy, but he mount apparently uses the same technology as the Oto Melara 76mm Compact gun already in service with the PN. 

Problems Faced by the Philippine Navy on the Proposals:

It was made known to MaxDefense that there are delays hampering the proposal of the Philippine Navy's JVI, which recommends the acquisition of the ships as a stop gap measure. According to sources, the recommendation is still stuck in the Philippine Navy due to a request by a certain high command official (which MaxDefense prefers not to disclose) for further analysis even though it was a very much obvious to not need such requirement. This is due to the fact that the ships are being compared to the much older, much harder to maintain World War 2-era ships.

It remains to be seen now if the Philippine Navy will get these requirements in the next weeks, before the recommendation can be forwarded to the Armed Forces of the Philippines GHQ, and to the Department of National Defense for funding request. This sickness of red tape and delays within the Philippine Navy continues to linger on, which is a surprise for MaxDefense considering the huge improvement strides made by the organization to improve itself compared to when yours truly is still with the service more than a decade ago.

Isn't it a no-brainer that the Joao Coutinho-class from the 1970s is a more practical choice compared to the likes of BRP Rajah Humabon (above) from the 1940s? Come on Philippine Navy.
Photo taken from US Navy.

The Korean offer is also not without problems, this time regarding the possibility of using the offer as a hedge to push the Philippine Navy to give them an edge on ongoing and future modernization projects.

The Koreans are known to use grant of excess defense articles to create new markets for their wares. This was shown when South Korea sold SSM-700K Haeseong C-Star anti-ship missiles to Colombia, after being promised to be granted a Donghae-class corvette. Even members of the AFP are expecting the Koreans to provide a "freebie" for the acquisition of FA-50PH Fighting Eagle aircraft from Korea Aerospace Industries.

If the offer proves to be something of a hedge in nature, it would not only be something that is difficult to approve, but will also mean the approval may likely affect other matters negatively with regards to the procurement laws and specified requirements. MaxDefense prefers that this offer by South Korea to have no strings attached on other projects, since the offer already benefits the Korean defense industry by having the ship refurbished in Korea, and paid for by the Philippine government.

While MaxDefense is not concluding anything yet regarding the revised Pohang-class offer from South Korea, but it is expected that the Philippine Navy stay true to it form, and allow compromise only without sacrificing anything.




MaxDefense's Recommendation:

Since the PN's JVI for the Joao Coutinho-class already was recommended for acquisition, MaxDefense supports this move. Based on price and availability alone, these are good additions to the ageing fleet, even as a short-term solution.

MaxDefense also recommends that the Philippine Navy immediately send visual inspection team to South Korea to check on the overall conditions of the latest Pohang-class ships offered to them. This would immediately allow them to decide, and not linger on a proposal that turns out to be impractical. If they find the ships not feasible for acquisition, it then further supports the acquisition of the Joao Coutinho-class, and allows the PN to look further in other markets for alternatives for the Pohang-class.

Should the PN find the revised offer acceptable, and strings are not attached, MaxDefense recommends their acquisition as well. Why? Because these ships are sure assets that can be obtained, compared to newer ships that remain as plans up to this day. The culture of planning in the AFP is a well-known fact among international and local defense suppliers and manufacturers, wherein the AFP, as whole, have a lot of good plans for its modernization, but fail miserably in implementation and actual acquisition.  The Pohangs, if found to be OK, can make sure that the PN has the necessary assets it needs even when the government fails to provide funding to order new ships, a reality compared to an aspired dream.


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UPDATES:
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April 9, 2017:

We received information that another team from the Philippine Navy are scheduled to depart of Lisbon, Portugal very soon. They will be doing inspections on the Joao Coutinho-class and possibly the Baptista de Andrade-class ships as well. MaxDefense hopes that this inspection will finally give the Philippine Navy the answer it needs and finalize a decision if it is going to acquire the ships from Portugal or not. Delaying it further may not be good for the Philippine Navy and the Philippines as well, since Portugal might have some other plans for these ships if the PN is not really interested in getting them. Decisiveness is key.

More updates coming as we get more information from our sources.

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