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Miguel Malvar-class frigate

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BRP Miguel Malvar (FF-06) as launched by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea.
Class overview
NameMiguel Malvar class
BuildersHyundai Heavy Industries
Operators Philippine Navy
Preceded byJose Rizal class
Cost
  • PH₱12.5 billion (~US$250M) per ship-platform (in 2021 December contract signing phase)[1][Note 1]
  • PHP1.5B (~USD30M) initial ammo per ship (not yet contracted)[1]
Built2023–2026
In commission2025–2026 (expected)
Planned2
Building2
General characteristics
TypeFrigate
Displacement3,200 tons
Length118.4 m (388 ft 5 in)
Beam14.9 m (48 ft 11 in)
Draft3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Depth7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Installed power4 × MTU-STX diesel generators
Propulsion
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) at 85% MCR
Range4,500 nmi (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Endurance20 days
Boats & landing
craft carried		2 × RHIBs
ComplementTBC
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • SIGINT/ESM Suite:
  • Elbit Elisra Aquamarine R-ESM (Radar-Electronic Support Measures)
  • Elbit Elisra Aquamarine C-ESM (communications - electronic support measures)
  • Countermeasures Dispensing System:
  • 2 × 12-tube mortar-type decoy launchers
  • Structural Countermeasures:
  • Low RCS
  • Low IR signature
  • Low underwater radiated noise
  • Low magnetic signature
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × 10-12 tonne naval helicopter
Aviation facilitiesflight deck and starboard-side hangar for a 12-ton helicopter

The Miguel Malvar-class frigate is a class of frigates designed and currently built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the Philippine Navy. It was previously known as the HDC-3100 corvette based on the company's product nomenclature system and the service's acquisition project name until it was reclassified to its current "FF" frigate designation.

The Philippine Navy is expecting the delivery of two ships acquired under its Corvette Acquisition Project under the Revised AFP Modernization Program's Horizon 2 phase covering years 2018 to 2022.[1][4]

History

[edit]

The Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) signed a contract with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries on 28 December 2021, with the shipbuilder delivering a variant of their HDC-3100/HDF-3100 corvette/frigate design.[5]

Construction on the first ship, designated project no. P170, commenced with the steel cutting ceremony on 11 May 2023,[6] and 22 November 2023 for the second ship, designated project no. P171.[6][7][8]

In 2023 September interview with DZBB to vice commander Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia, he estimated that the navy would receive the two ordered HDC-3100 corvettes starting around 2025–2026.[9]

On 12 April 2024 it was announced that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released around US$106 million to fund the construction of the corvettes.[10] On 4 June 2024, weeks before the first frigate was launched by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Octaviano Enterprises revealed in an image of a plaque for the Offshore Combat Force's 36th Founding Anniversary, showing what will be the names of the future corvettes, then classified as frigates - BRP Miguel Malvar (FF-06), and BRP Diego Silang (FF-07).[11]

On 18 June 2024 BRP Miguel Malvar was launched at HHI's Ulsan shipyards with sea trials to commence prior to its delivery to the Philippine Navy by 2025.[12] The launch ceremony was attended by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr, his wife Special Envoy to the United Nations Children’s Fund Monica Louise Prieto-Teodoro, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner, Philippine Navy Chief Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr and other military officials.[13]

Development

[edit]

Concept design

[edit]

The Philippine Navy included plans to procure two new guided missile corvettes as part of its Horizon 2 modernization phase, with the proposal with a budget of PHP28 billion (US$550 million) among those approved in-principle by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2018. During the pre-procurement development phase, the Technical Working Group (TWG) assigned for the project has used the Philippine Navy's latest warship, the Jose Rizal-class frigate as baseline for the new corvettes, while improvements will be added based on lessons learned from the said frigate's development and construction from 2016 to 2020.

Based on open source information, the new corvette would be more or less similar in size to the Jose Rizal-class frigate, but will have improved sensors and weapons suite.

Sensors were believed to include the following:[1]

  • an improved combat management system (CMS) compared to the one installed on the Jose Rizal-class frigate;
  • an AESA 3D air/surface search radar system, an improvement over the non-AESA system on the Jose Rizal-class frigate;
  • a secondary surface search/navigation radar system;
  • a fire control radar (FCR);
  • an electro-optical tracking system (EOTS);
  • a radar electronic support measures (R-ESM) system;
  • a hull mounted sonar (HMS);
  • a towed array sonar (TAS) which would be included upon delivery, compared to being a "fitted for but not with" (FFBNW) subsystem on the Jose Rizal-class frigate;

Weapon systems will include the following:[1]

The project was divided into two lots. Lot 1 was allocated PHP25 billion for the procurement of the corvette and weapon systems, and Lot 2 with a budget of PHP3 billion for the procurement of the ships' munitions.

Selection

[edit]
A variant of the Turkish Naval Forces' Ada-class corvette was offered by ASFAT for the Philippine Navy's new corvette program

Several offers were made to the Philippine Navy to meet the requirements for new corvettes, including proposals coming from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries,[14] Turkey's ASFAT,[15] Israel Shipyards, Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), France's Naval Group,[14] Dutch shipbuilder Damen Group,[14] and India's Goa Shipyard.

The Department of National Defense eventually decided for the project to be procured under negotiated process, and undertaken through Government-to-Government (G2G) process, which means a support and participation of the government of the shipbuilder's country of origin.

By 2021, South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries and Turkey's ASFAT were shortlisted for the project. HHI offered their HDC-3100 corvette design. On the other hand, ASFAT offered a revised version of their Ada-class corvette.[16][17][15]

Ultimately, Hyundai Heavy Industries was selected as the winning contractor for the project's Lot 1,[5] with a Notice of Award released by the DND on 15 December 2021,[18] and a contract signed on 28 December 2021.[5]

HHI HDC-3100 design

[edit]
Front view of the scale model of the HDC-3100 corvette design from HHI
Another view of the scale model of the same HDC-3100 corvette design

Hyundai Heavy Industries' HDC-3100 corvette design, also known as the HDF-3100 frigate design, will become the benchmark design for the Philippine Navy's future frigate. It is an improved design of the HDF-2600 which was used on the Jose Rizal-class frigate, with a longer hull and a heavier displacement to accommodate increased subsystem requirements of the Philippine Navy.

The benchmark HDC-3100 has a length of 116 meters, a breadth of 14.8 meters, and a displacement of 3,100 tons, and will have a Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) propulsion configuration allowing a maximum speed in excess of 25 knots and a range of up to 4,500 nautical miles.[5]

It has space for a 76 mm primary naval gun in A position, a 16-cell VLS (with space for 16 more) behind the primary naval gun, torpedo launchers on both port and starboard sides, and a gun-based close-in weapon system above the helicopter hangar. Aside from the CIWS, there is no more small-caliber secondary gun as previously expected.[19]

The space for the vertical launching system has been lengthened to accommodate a 16-cell system, and helicopter landing deck also appears to have been lengthened to allow longer helicopter designs.[1]

Confirmed subsystems

[edit]

South Korean defense company Hanwha Systems has secured a contract to supply the new corvette's combat management system (CMS).[20] It was confirmed to be the Naval Shield Integrated Combat Management System Baseline 4.[21][1]

UK-based defense company SEA has been contracted by Hyundai Heavy Industries to supply the torpedo launching systems for the new corvettes, with SEA delivering two of their TLS systems to each of the corvettes.[22] The SEA TLS can be used to launch a variety of torpedo models including the US Mark 44, Mark 46 and Mark 54 torpedoes, the UK Sting Ray, the Italian A244-S, French MU90 Impact, and the South Korean K745 Blue Shark torpedoes.[23][1]

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Elta Systems was awarded a contract to supply the new corvettes with their ELM-2258 Advanced Lightweight Phased Array (ALPHA) 3D active electronically scanned array (AESA) air/surface search radar system.[24] The ELM-2258 ALPHA can provide 360° radar coverage, and can track low-flying targets within a range of 25 kilometers and high-flying ones within a range of 250 kilometers in complex environments.[25][1]

Hensoldt UK was awarded a contract to supply Mk11 SharpEye navigation radars for HHI's Philippine Navy ship projects. The radars will be fitted on both the 3,200-ton corvettes and the 2,400-ton offshore patrol vessels currently being developed and constructed by HHI for the Philippine Navy. These radars will provide navigation and surface search capabilities for the vessels.[26][1]

In an interview with Naval News, Safran has confirmed that their PASEO XLR extra long range optronic identification & fire control system will be installed on the 2 HDC-3100 corvettes and 6 HDP-2200 offshore patrol vessels being built by HD Hyundai for the Philippine Navy.[3][1]

IMENCO announced in 2023 that the company won a contract from Electrix Co. Ltd to provide CCTV systems to the corvettes.[27]

Ships in class

[edit]
Name Hull number Builder Steel cut Laid down Launched Delivered Commissioned Status
BRP Miguel Malvar FF-06 Hyundai Heavy Industries 11 May 2023[6] 22 November 2023[8] 18 June 2024[28][29] 2025[29] 2025 Outfitting
BRP Diego Silang FF-07 22 November 2023[8] 14 June 2024[29][28] 2024 December[28] 2025 end[28] 2026 Under construction
  either scheduled or estimated dates

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Cost excludes VDS (variable depth sonar), Link-16 and Link-22 modules as they are FFBNW items. Another note: contemporary frigates, other warship types, and even many civilian armed vessels usually includes RWS guns (usually two units) but on Miguel Malvar-class frigates, those are absent, not even specified as FFBNW items (or at least not yet confirmed as so).
  2. ^ Brand official confirmation none yet. Haesung only expected as of current based on expected fleet commonality. Previously, observers expected Hensoldt TRS-4D G-band radar based on commonality with JRCF's Hensoldt TRS-3D G-band radar but didn't materialize; same goes for Harris sonar expected for the Goryo-class frigates based on commonality with JRCF's Harris sonar but didn't materialize; expected RWS guns, preinstalled TASS; among other expectations that didn't materialize.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Corvette Acquisition Project (Lots 1 and 2) of the Philippine Navy". Philippine Defense Resource. 17 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023.
  2. ^ "IAI And HHI To Supply Philippine Navy With ALPHA 3D Radar Systems". France: Naval News. 28 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Safran at MADEX 2023: Optronic, navigation and decoy launching systems for ROK Navy". Youtube. Naval News. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Corvette Acquisition Project". GlobalSecurity.org website. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "South Korea's HHI To Build Two New Corvettes For The Philippine Navy". Naval News. 28 December 2021. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Korean shipbuilder constructing 2 corvettes for Philippine Navy". Inquirer.net. 17 May 2023. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  7. ^ Nepomuceno, Priam (18 January 2023). "Steel cutting for 2 Navy corvettes set in May, November: DND". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "HD HHI Begins Shipbuilding Of The Philippine Navy's First Corvette". Naval News. 22 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  9. ^ Nepomuceno, Priam (6 September 2023). "PH Navy to get 2 brand-new corvettes from 2025 to 2026". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  10. ^ Ng, Jr (12 April 2024). "Philippines releases further funds for corvette construction". Asian Military Review. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Introduction of the New Miguel Malvar-class Frigate of the Philippine Navy". Pitz Defense Analysis. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  12. ^ "Hyundai launches first 118 m corvette on order for Philippine Navy". Janes. 19 June 2024. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  13. ^ Corrales, Nestor (22 June 2024). "New PH Navy corvettes delivered in 2025 – DND". INQUIRER.net. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  14. ^ a b c "Four Shipyards Compete For Philippine Navy's Corvette Acquisition Project". GBP. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  15. ^ a b "The Philippine Navy's Corvette Offer from Turkey". Pitz Defense Analysis. 22 August 2021. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  16. ^ Nepomuceno, Priam (21 April 2021). "PH Navy eyes tie-up with Turkey for modernization efforts". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Philippines considers Turkish firms to help modernize navy". Daily Sabah. 21 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Korean firm bags P25B deal to build PH Navy corvettes". Inquirer.net. 23 December 2021. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Knowing the Specifications of the HHI's Philippine Navy Corvette". Pitz Defense Analysis. 20 February 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Hanwha To Supply Combat Systems For The Philippine Navy's New Corvette". Naval News. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Naval Combat System". Hanwha Systems. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  22. ^ Ridzwan Rahmat. "Philippine corvette torpedo tubes contract awarded via tender process, says SEA". Archived from the original on 28 March 2022.
  23. ^ "SEA To Supply Torpedo Launcher To HHI For New Philippine Navy Corvettes". Naval News. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  24. ^ "IAI and Hyundai Heavy Industries to Supply Philippine Navy with ALPHA 3D Radar Systems". IsraelDefense. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  25. ^ "IIAI partners with Hyundai to supply AESA naval radars to Philippines". Janes. 27 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  26. ^ "HENSOLDT UK awarded contracts for the Philippine Navy". Hensoldt. Hensoldt. 17 March 2023. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  27. ^ Birkeland, Heine (15 August 2023). "IMENCO wins major Philippines Navy Contract". Imenco AS. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  28. ^ a b c d Park, Jae-hyuk (18 June 2024). "HD Hyundai launches first corvette for Philippine Navy". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  29. ^ a b c Cha, Eunhyuk (18 June 2024). "HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Launches The Philippine Navy Corvette 'BRP Miguel Malvar'". Naval News. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
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