Sea Platforms
Philippine Navy mulling best way to upgrade Del Pilar frigates
Dzirhan Mahadzir, Kuala Lumpur and James Hardy, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
25 August 2014
The PN is debating the best way to upgrade weapons and sensors on its two Del Pilar-class frigates. Source: PA Photos
The Philippine Navy (PN) is having internal talks on how best to upgrade the weapon and electronic systems of its Del Pilar-class frigates.
The PN has two Del Pilar-class frigates, BRP
Gregorio Del Pilar (PF15) and BRP
Ramon Alcaraz (PF16), which are ex-US Coast Guard Hamilton- and Hero-class cutters acquired in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The two vessels each originally mounted a Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS), which was removed when transferred to the Philippines. A sister ship, the USCGC
Mellon , mounted a Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher in the 1990s.
"Our initial target is for the Del Pilar frigates to have the same capabilities as the Hamilton-class did when they were in US service, such as having the Phalanx CIWS and Harpoon anti-ship missiles," Marine Colonel Eric Nicanor, commander of the PN's Naval Communications, Electronic and Information Center and chairman of the technical working group for the Del Pilar-class frigate upgrade, told
IHS Jane's at the Integrated Air and Missile Defence Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur on 20-21 August.
"We are also discussing whether the combat systems and sensors should be the same as [those of] the frigates that will be acquired in the future," he added.
As well as new weapons and sensors, the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) is buying two new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters for the Del Pilar frigates, with an acquisition set to be announced before the year's end.
Col Nicanor said that having a similar combat system and sensors to the yet-to-be-determined new frigates that Manila is looking to buy would simplify logistics and maintenance support for the navy. Shared combat systems and sensors would also allow the Del Pilar-class frigates to act as training ships for crews of the future frigates, he said.
However, another school of thought is that it would be better for different systems to be installed on the Del Pilar frigates to allow the PN to access different capabilities, while also making the navy less vulnerable to electronic countermeasures.
"We are still discussing and conducting the studies as to which of the two approaches we should consider regarding the Del Pilar upgrade and we also want surface-to-air missile capability for them, so we are studying the options for that also," Col Nicanor said.
Philippine Navy mulling best way to upgrade Del Pilar frigates - IHS Jane's 360