Philippines’ second new frigate encounters delivery delays due to COVID-19

Frigate Antonio Luna (FF-151) during launching on November 2019. Photo c/o Yonhap News Agency.

The second Jose Rizal-class frigate bound for the Philippine Navy (PN) will be delivered later than expected.

This was confirmed to the local media by the PN’s Flag Officer in Command, Vice Adm. Giovanni Bacordo, who mentioned that they are now expecting for the second frigate, the Antonio Luna (FF-151), to be delivered to them by either January or February 2021.

Originally the frigate was scheduled for delivery to the PN on October 2020, but Vice Adm. Bacordo mentioned that COVID-19 has made delivery at that date impossible.

The Antonio Luna is built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and was launched in November 2019. The frigate has started undergoing sea trials in South Korea.

The first ship of the class, the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), was already commissioned with the PN in July 2020, and is currently on its way to participate in it first international exercise, the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2020.

The Jose Rizal-class frigates are 107.5 meters long, has a beam of 13.8 meters, displaces at 2,600 tons, and are the PN’s first missile-armed major surface warfare assets. They are armed with an Oto Melara Super Rapid 76mm gun, a 30mm secondary gun, two twin launchers for MBDA Mistral very short range air defense missiles, 2 twin launchers for LIG Nex1 SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship missiles, and two triple torpedo launchers. 

The frigates also have space for future 8-cell vertical launching system (VLS) and a close-in weapon system (CIWS), which will be acquired separately.


[1] Philippine News Agency
[2] Philippine Defense Resource
[3] GMA News