Philippines mulling purchase of Italian frigates

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines is eyeing the purchase of two "potent" Maestrale-class frigates from Italy to boost the country's capability to defend its territorial waters, particularly the West Philippine Sea.

 

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters Thursday that the refurbished frigates could arrive in the country late next year.

Officials are just waiting for the enactment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization law, which Gazmin said they expect by the end of this year, to continue negotiations with Italy.

The two frigates are worth P11.7 billion.

The ships are primarily equipped for anti-submarine warfare with anti-aircraft and anti-surface capabilities. The Italian Navy has used the frigates since 1982 but the website naval-technology.com says they are scheduled to be replaced by newer ships next year.

The frigates are equipped with missiles, torpedoes, naval guns and a 27-meter wide helicopter flight deck.

Defense Undersecretary for Munitions, Installations and Material Fernando Manalo described the frigates as "more lethal" than the Navy’s BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a re-commissioned US Hamilton-class Coast Guard cutter.

"This is more potent and strong," Gazmin also said. "Makakatulong ng maigi yan kasi bigyan tayo ng napakagandang (They will help us very much because they will give us a very good)defense posture." 

Manalo said if the contract is approved within the year, the two frigates will be "retired" from the service by the Italian Navy.

The frigates will then undergo refurbishing, which will take up to nine months.

He stressed that the frigates would not be stripped down like the Hamilton-class cutters.

"We demanded that we will not accept what is less than what has been installed in the vessel. Nothing will be removed," Manalo said.

Modernization in full swing

 
Gazmin also said the military’s modernization is in full swing with about 60 percent of 140 contracts for the program already underway.

The rest of the contracts will depend on the enactment of the AFP modernization law, he said.

By the end of this year, Manalo said they are expecting the delivery of about 21 UH1H “Huey” helicopters, "two to four" attack choppers and two Multi-purpose Assault Crafts.

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Abigail Kwok | InterAksyon.com | August 2, 2012 | Article Link

DND wants frigate with 'surface-to-air' missile power

MANILA, Philippines - Defense spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez announced on Friday that one of the frigates to be acquired by the Philippines will have "surface-to-air" capabilities. That is, the ship will have the capability to fire missiles, guided by radar or heat sensors, at airborne targets.

"Aside from this, our latest frigate will have heavier gun armament and other equipment that will make it very effective in patrolling and securing the country's waters," Galvez said in Filipino.

He declined to state the particular country the Philippines will acquire this ship but stressed that acquisition will be done through a government-to-government transaction.

The Philippines has taken on a new sense of urgency to upgrade its naval capabilities as tensions continue to rise around the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). US President Barack Obama's announced "pivot" for America towards the Pacific has stirred greater naval activity on the part of China, triggering cross-border problems between the Asian superpower and the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, and Russia across the East and South China Seas. Against this backdrop, the Philippine Navy has been exposed to be glaringly ill-equipped to patrol and protect its own shores. 

Earlier, DND Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the military wants to acquire additional naval craft from Italy.

"We are not relying totally on the United States (for) our equipment acquisitions. We are also looking at the possibility of getting some of our equipment from Europe, specifically from Italy, depending on our budget," he added.

Possible naval craft to be acquired from Italy by the Philippines are the "Maestrale" and "Soldati" classes.

The "Maestrale" class, operated by the Italian Navy, is primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare.

However the vessels are highly flexible so they are also capable of anti-air and anti-surface operations.

It has a displacement of 3,300 gross register tons and a speed of 33 knots.

The ship is armed with anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, long range guns and automatic weapons, making it ideal to protect the country's maritime borders against poachers, pirates and foreign aggressors.

The "Soldati" class, on the other hand, is a multi-purpose warship designed for anti-surface warfare.

It has a displacement of 2,500 gross register tons and has a top speed of 35 knots.

The ship has missile, torpedo and gun armament and is capable of carrying an anti-submarine helicopter. 

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Philippine News Agency/InterAksyon.Com | July 28, 2012 | Article Link

Italy could surrender some of its fleet to third countries

Italy is suffering severely for the current economic crisis and, despite the measures taken to stem the losses, the forecasts for the future is bleak. The data presented at Eurosatory - arms fair held in Paris - show a country in great difficulties even in the defense sector: the Ministry of the total budget is spent 22.4M-17.6M dollars in four years, with a reduction of 21.4% in 2012 compared to 2008.

The Italian government is trying, like many other European countries, to cut the unnecessary and at the same time find ways to sustain capacity and invest in new technologies. No wonder, then, that Italy is planning to get rid of some of its vehicles in service in favor of potential buyers, to reduce costs and raise cash.

It will be the Navy to be more affected by this process, if ever the government decides to implement it. The Navy has 82 ships in service of various kinds and 6 submarines. The plan is to get rid of 26-28 vessels, according to a statement by Admiral Louis Binelli Mantelli, Chief of Staff of the Navy, during a hearing at the Senate defense committee. In the list of 'offers' there would be 7 frigates, 6/8 corvettes, 4 ships trainer, 4 offshore tugboats, 3 coastal minesweepers and 2 carriers.

Not all ships in the list will bring money into the bank of the Navy Department. Some units have reached the maximum number of years of life and will be withdrawn from service and were not included in the list because now considered unusable. Others, such as deminer Lerici, retired from service last March, is still considered suitable for sale as the Mistral class frigates, including the most 'old' will still be retired at the end of 2013.

At the moment it is not yet clear which (or which) countries the ships will be offered. Whispers in the corridors of the ministry of an interest in the Mistral frigates from the Philippines, but there is nothing concrete. Nor is it clear what ships will be sold and which will be given away for free. The latter possibility, keeping in view of the Admiral. Part of the vessels on the list, in fact, require significant work and upgrades, and the Navy is aware that discarding will have to make them palatable for free. On the other hand, if they were to be scrapped would still represent a cost to the Italian State.

Binelli Mantelli also supported the need to involve industry in the sale of Italian naval ships. The example to follow is the sale of two Lupo class frigates to Peru in 2005, the ships were withdrawn from service with the Italian Navy, renovated in the shipyards of Fincantieri and later sold to Peru. The agreement has thus resulted in an advantage for our Navy, but also for the Italian shipbuilding industry.

The transaction, however, poses two risks: the first is that the wave of enthusiasm is decided to reduce the excessive number of vessels in service, compromising the functionality of the Navy. The second risk relates to the implicit competition against Italian shipping industry: ship used to market low cost could halt the construction / purchase of new vessels, because potential customers would turn to MMT.

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Meridiani Relazioni Internazionali | June 8, 2012 | Article Link

Translated to English using Google Translator