ULSAN, South Korea – The Philippine Navy’s first missile warship BRP Jose Rizal was launched here yesterday in a ceremony spearheaded by top defense and military officials from the Philippines and South Korea.
Officials of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the builder of the Navy’s semi-stealth frigate, also attended the launching.
“This project is very close to my heart because I believe that Philippines should have a strong navy as well as robust maritime industry because we are an archipelagic country. This should be the cornerstone of our territorial defense,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a speech delivered by Undersecretary for finance and material Raymundo Elefante on his behalf.
Lorenzana said the acquisition of BRP Jose Rizal is a shining symbol of the Filipinos being a seafaring people, as well as boosting the country’s ability to defend its maritime domain and territorial seas.
At par with the most modern warships across the globe, the Jose Rizal has anti-air, anti-submarine and surface-to-surface weapons and surveillance capabilities. The ship is also armed with OTO Melara 76mm Super Rapid Gun for her primary weapon and Aselan SMACH 30mm remote-controlled naval gun as secondary weapons.
With maximum speed of 25 knots, Jose Rizal can travel for 4,500 miles at a cruising speed of 15 knots and sustain operational presence for 30 days. She can withstand rough sea conditions up to Sea State 7, which means rough sea conditions with up to 10-meter waves.
With her installed Command and Control System (CMS) currently being used by Indonesian and Malaysia navies, Jose Rizal can monitor or track through its integrated radar and surveillance systems 4,000 “friends or foes.”
It can engage five targets at one time.
Its Oto Melara primary automatic weapon can fire 180 rounds a minute that can stall and hit incoming missiles.
The ship is also capable of firing and hitting enemy targets as far away as 250 kilometers.
Top Navy officials led by Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad said the 351 feet long and 46 feet wide BRP Jose Rizal is bringing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) closer to attaining a more credible defense posture, the centerpiece of the defense department’s efforts in rebuilding the country’s territorial and external defense capabilities.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, this acquisition project gives us the chance to own our modern state-of-the-art military hardware to raise our defense capabilities and the capacity to the level required to protect our territory,” Lorenzana said in his speech.