TIM
TIM eMagazine
eMagazine Vol.2
Vol.1 Issue 5 1
platform dock, like her sister ship, the BRP Tarlac.
Its delivery to the Philippines, tentatively scheduled this
May, will complete the two-unit SSV procurement project
with an approved budget contract of PHP4 billion sourced
from the AFP Modernization Act Trust Fund.
Just like the BRP Tarlac, the Navy’s latest SSV will serve
as a floating command-and-control ship, especially in the
conduct of humanitarian assistance and disaster response,
and will also serve as a military sealift and transport
vessel.
The ship, which has an overall length of 120 meters, breadth of 21 meters, and draft of 5 meters, can carry a
payload of 2,800 tons.
She has a cruising speed of 13 knots and maximum
speed of 16 knots and a minimum operating range of
7,500 nautical miles.
The BRP Davao Del Sur can carry 500 troops, two rigid-
hull inflatable boats, two landing craft units and three
helicopters.
Meanwhile, the construction of the country’s first two
MPACs, with missile armament provisions, is ongoing at
the Propmech Corp. shipyard in Subic Bay, Zambales.
MPAC is short for multi-purpose assault craft, a small,
maneuverable and highly fast naval vessel.
This was confirmed by Defense public affairs office chief,
Arsenio Andolong, in an interview with the Philippine
News Agency (PNA) last April 11.
“They are now being constructed at the Propmech Corp.
facility in Subic Bay but we do not yet have the timeline for
the sea trials,” he said.
Andolong added that the missile armaments and other
weapons of the MPACs will be fitted at a later time. The Navy earlier said that these MPACs will be delivered
by the third quarter of this year.
These MPACs, the so-called Mark IIIs, are far more
advanced and capable than the Mark Is and IIs currently in
service. The PN is operating six gun-armed MPACs.
They will be armed with the Israel’s Rafael Advanced
Defense Systems Ltd.’s Spike ER (extended range) in anti-
ship mode, which is capable of penetrating 1,000 mm. (39
inches) of rolled homogeneous armor and has a maximum
range of five miles.
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