Philippine Navy's second Jose Rizal-class frigate arrives home

A second Jose Rizal-class guided-missile frigate on order for the Philippine Navy has arrived home.

The vessel, which will be in service as BRP Antonio Luna (151) once commissioned, sailed into Philippine waters in the vicinity of Capones Island, Zambales on 9 February, the service announced on the same day.

The frigate was welcomed by a fly-by of three Philippine Air Force (PAF) FA-50 aircraft and its sister ship, first-of-class Jose Rizal (150), upon its arrival in these waters. Antonio Luna and Jose Rizal also subsequently conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX) and manoeuvring exercises shortly after the former’s arrival, the Philippine Navy disclosed.

Antonio Luna is the second of two frigates signed for between the Philippine government and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) under a USD337 million contract in 2016. The warship completed its sea acceptance trials in waters off Ulsan, South Korea, on 18 December, and was cleared for delivery by Philippine Navy and Philippine Department of National Defense inspectors on 25 January.

The programme’s first-of-class was commissioned in July 2020 and the vessel derives its design from HHI’s HDF-3000 concept, which is in turn a variant of the Republic of Korea Navy’s (RoKN’s) Incheon (FFX-I) class. The Philippine warship has an overall length of 107.5 m, an overall beam of 13.8 m, and a draught of 3.65 m.

Weapons onboard the Jose Rizal class include a 76 mm naval gun in the primary position, a 30 mm ‘SMASH’ remote-controlled stabilised gun system from Turkey’s Aselsan in the aft section, and two SIMBAD-RC launcher turrets, one each on the port and starboard sides.

Once commissioned, Antonio Luna will be inducted into the Philippine Navy’s offshore combat force where it will operate alongside its sister ship Jose Rizal