Navy’s warship to patrol Benham, says AFP chief

MANILA, Philippines - Vessel (SSV) BRP Davao del Sur will be deployed to patrol Benham Rise once the vessel is delivered by the Indonesian defense contractor next month, Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año said.

The BRP Davao del Sur will be the second SSV of the Navy. The military is also expecting the delivery of two missile-firing Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) by November.

“BRB Lanao del Sur will also be deployed in Benham Rise. With our naval assets we could now conduct regular maritime security patrols,” Año said.

Aside from the two ships, additional fast crafts and other assets are being planned for the Navy, part of the ongoing AFP Modernization Program.

The BRP Davao Del Sur is now undergoing sea trial.

The vessel is the sister ship of the BRP Tarlac that is currently the Navy’s largest operational warship.

The BRP Tarlac, which was commissioned last June 1, is currently serving as the landing platform of the military’s ongoing anti-terror operations in the Sulu Sea.

She arrived in the Philippines last May 14 after a five-day journey from PT PAL shipyard in Surabaya. Indonesia.

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 has an overall length of 120 meters, breadth of 21 meters, draft of five meters and 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.

BRP Davao Del Sur could carry 500 troops, two rigid-hull inflatable boats, two landing craft units and three helicopters.

Meanwhile, construction of the country’s first two MPACs, with missile armament provisions, are now ongoing at the Propmech Corp. shipyard in Subic Bay, Zambales.

“They are now being constructed at the Propmech facility in Subic Bay but we don’t yet have the timelines for the sea trials,” defense public affairs office chief Arsenio Andolong said.

He said the missile armaments and other weapons of the MPACs would be fitted at a later time.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has allocated P30.2 million for the maintenance of its three brand-new airbus military C-295 medium-lift cargo plane.

In a bid bulletin posted at the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System website, Air Force bids and awards chairman Brig. Gen. Nicolas Parilla said the fund would be used to procure spare parts for the C-295 planes with tail numbers 129, 140 and 142.

Pre-bid conference is on April 21, 1 p.m. at the Air Force Procurement Center Conference Room, Villamor Air Base, Pasay City, while submission and opening of bids is on May 5, 9 a.m. at the same venue.

The three C-295 planes are assigned to the 220th Airlift Wing in Mactan, Cebu. The medium-lift planes are used for tactical airlift requirements and are essential to internal security operations in ferrying personnel and logistical requirements of different line-combat units to any part of the country.