BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) deployed to the West Philippine Sea with one of the service’s AW159 Wildcat helicopters. This is a first for the Philippine Navy, marking the first “full-mission capable deployment” of the new frigate and helicopter together. It is also a first for Philippine anti-submarine warfare capabilities, lacking until the country’s recent military modernization efforts.
In its first operational deployment, the Jose Rizal-class frigate will further train and integrate with its Wildcat through various tests and drills. Another focus of the deployment is to uphold the country’s sovereignty, with a press release from Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines stating that the two assets “have been deployed on the country’s western border for maritime and sovereignty patrols that ensure effective maritime presence, particularly, in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).”
The Philippine Navy ordered both Leonardo AW159 Wildcat helicopters and Hyundai Heavy Industries Jose Rizal-class frigates in 2016 under Horizon 1, the first phase of the Philippines’ revised military modernization program. The Wildcats arrived in country a year ahead of the frigates in May of 2019 and required a few years of integration onto the ships. Deck Landing Qualifications and other crew-related training were handled by AgustaWestland and Australian contractors from PRISM Defence.
In Philippine Navy service, the Wildcat’s armament includes the K745 Blue Shark torpedo, Mistral 3 Air-to-Air Missile, and Spike NLOS. It is the Philippines’ first-ever ASW helicopter and the regaining of a lost submarine hunting capability. During the Cold War, the Philippine Navy had an ASW capability. The service recently highlighted this history in a media release recalling two separate incidents in 1952 and 1955 when RPS Samar (PS-33) engaged, and supposedly sunk, two unknown submarines.
While the Wildcat marks a major leap in the Philippine Navy’s capabilities, only two Wildcats were procured, with the idea being that each one will be assigned to each frigate. With the recent procurement of two corvettes from HHI, two more Wildcats will likely be ordered as the service is looking to procure ASW helicopters for the vessels. It should be noted that due to maintenance and deployment timetables, more than four helicopters are needed to keep readiness up.
BRP Antonio Luna is the only operational Jose Rizal-class frigate. The lead ship of the class BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) is currently at Ulsan, South Korea for maintenance by HHI.
In April, WESCOM announced that it has stepped up naval and air patrols by 50% from 2022 in the West Philippine Sea to counter foreign maritime militia vessels. BRP Antonio Luna’s patrol is the latest addition to keep up this tempo, which WESCOM aims to keep up for the rest of 2023.
