TweetSeaplanes and flying boats are aircraft with the unique ability to travel to any marine destination, at fixed-wing-aircraft speed, and then land and take-off from water. It is a category of aircraft that is — theoretically — well suited to an archipelagic country like the Philippines. The Philippine Navy’s 15-year development plan calls for the acquisition of eight […]
TweetThe Philippine Navy’s two Strategic Sealift Vessels are now both under construction, with the steel cutting ceremony for the second SSV taking place on the 5th of June. The first vessel had its equivalent ceremony in January and is expected to be launched in November 2015 with full completion by May the following year. The Strategic […]
TweetGiven the current nature of the country’s attitude towards defense, and the state of the AFP in general and the PN in particular, it will arguably take a LIFETIME to introduce submarines into the Philippine fleet. By promoting active and factual discussion about both the need and the challenges of establishing a submarine force, this […]
TweetThanks to a position paper published by Congressman Roilo Golez, the term “area denial” has entered mainstream Philippine social media discussions about tensions with China and territorial threats in the West Philippine Sea. But what exactly is “Sea Denial”? To fully appreciate that mission, one must also understand the super-set mission: “Sea Control”. The following […]
TweetThe Philippine Navy scheduled two separate gunnery exercises (GUNNEX) for ships armed with Oto Melara 76mm guns. As per Notice to Mariners (NOTAM) 072-2013, BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS-35) will conduct an exercise, explicitly for its main weapon, on 24 July 2013 off La Monja Island in Bataan. NOTAM 074-2013, on the other hand, announced a […]
TweetThere’s been a lot of talk about whether or not an ex-US Coast Guard cutter — like the BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz, can really be called “warships”. Even among individuals responsible for government communication disagreements reported exist. When looking for internationally accepted definitions, the United Nations is a reasonably good reference. […]
TweetThe Philippine Navy recently issued bid invitation notices for the “Drydocking and other related repair” of two of its Andrada class patrol boats: BRP Carlos Albert (PG-375): MR-PNBAC-2013-043 for P4,52,782.00 BRP Jose Andrada (PG-370): MR-PNBAC-2013-042 for P6,751,485.00 Pre-bid conferences for these ships were set on the 3rd and 6th of May respectively. Submission and opening […]
TweetYD-204, a Philippine Navy floating drydock, will undergo a P9.7M maintenance cycle. A bid invitation for the supply of parts and labor registered with PhilGEPS on October 3, 2012. This invitation is due to close on the 23rd of October. The vessel was also slated to enter into drydock on April and June of 2011. […]
TweetThe Philippine Navy will be spending P19.1M for drydocking and repair expenses for the BRP Rajah Humabon (PF-11). Re-bidding invitations were posted on PhilGEPS on October the 5th, indicating that an earlier bidding attempt had failed. The current bids (PB-296-PN-12 and PB-295-PN-12) are both due to close on the 23rd of October. The 69-year old […]
TweetLt. Commander Nerelito Martinez, Philippine Fleet acting chief of staff for plans and programs, revealed details about the Philippine Navy’s 15-year strategic development plan dubbed “Philippine Fleet Desired Force Mix”, in a recent Philippine Fleet publication. Several news organs, as the Philippine Star, have since referenced his article their articles on the subject. The plan […]