MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Navy (PN) has acquired two of the most advanced frigates in the world today from South Korea for the price of one, a senior defense official said.
The defense official, whose office is also involved in the ongoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program, said the current world price for the type of warship that the Department of National Defense (DND) has procured from Hyundai Heavy Industries is P20 billion each.
“We’ve got this deal because South Korea sees in us an ally and a friend,” the official said.
He added the Philippines will always have a soft spot in the hearts of Koreans because of the huge contribution of Filipino soldiers during the Korean War.
Under an P18-billion contract, South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) launched Tuesday the BRP Jose Rizal in Ulsan while building the second one, BRP Antonio Luna.
Aside from being heavily indebted to the Philippines, the fast-growing South Korean defense industry also wanted the two PN frigates as models for its products on the global stage.
“We have built the PN warship using the latest technology for the world to see that frigate is at par if not better than those being operated by other modern navies,” an HHI official said.
He explained HHI has been continuously building warships and other key defense equipment for South Korea, which he said is technically still at war with North Korea.
Because of this continuing defense and military buildup, there’s now more than enough modern defense and military equipment available in the inventory of the South Korean armed forces.
“This is the reason why we started to look outside to market some of our products and the two warships that the Philippines have acquired from us are all highly capable frigates,” the HHI official said,
The official said the BRP Jose Rizal is now undergoing sea trials following its recent launching. The vessel has missiles and powerful radars and is armed with high-rate firing Oto-Melara guns.
“It (the gun) is capable of intercepting air targets to include missile using special munitions,” Navy spokesman Capt. Jonathan Zata said.
The main gun can fire 120 rounds per minute, faster than the 80 rounds currently being used by PN patrol vessels.