Philippines looking at acquiring a second Pohang-class corvette from South Korea
The former ROKS Andong (PCC-771). Photo c/o ROKN. |
The Philippine Navy (PN) has started the process of acquiring a second decommissioned Pohang-class corvette from South Korea.
The PN has made its intentions known more than a year ago of trying to acquire at least 2 more used Pohang-class corvettes to complement its existing surface ships, as it replaces its World War 2-era patrol vessels and expand its fleet.
A Joint Visual Inspection was conducted on the former Pohang-class Flight IV corvette ROKS Andong (PCC-771), which was previously in service with the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) and was decommissioned on 31 December 2020.
According to the PN, the ship was found to be in good condition, although not much detail and timeline were provided on the transfer of the ship.
Should the transfer be successful, it would be the second Pohang-class corvette in the PN, after the former Flight III ship ROKS Chungju (PCC-762), now known as the BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39).
The Flight IV variant of the Pohang-class corvettes are armed with the Boeing Harpoon anti-ship missiles and MBDA Mistral very short range air defense system (VSHORAD), although the missiles may not be part of the transfer to the Philippine Navy.
The former ROKS Andong was built by Hanjin Heavy Industries and launched on 30 April 1987, and commissioned with the ROKN on 07 November 1988.
[1] Naval News
[2] Inquirer.net
[3] MaxDefense Philippines
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