New Philippine-made Vessels for the Philippine Navy: BRP Tagbanua and Multi-purpose Attack Crafts (MPACs)

History

Through the years, modernization of the Philippine Navy together with the other branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines had been badly compromised due to several issues. They suffered from the lack of new weapons and supplies necessary to carry out their duty.  On February 23, 1995, Republic Act No. 7898 also known as the Armed Forces Modernization Act was made into law under the leadership of Pres. Fidel Ramos. It was aimed to modernize all branches of the AFP including the Philippine Navy. The law will last for 15 years with an initial budget of 50 billion pesos for the first five years, but the funding stops due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. After the financial crisis, the funding for the AFP modernization comes into a halt and later forgotten by the succeeding administrations and the law expires in 2010.

The need of the amendment and revision of the AFP Modernization Act was awaken in the years 2011 to 2012 where the Philippine sovereignty was threatened due to the territorial issues in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) where different claimants of the area were staging heavy military presence especially the People’s Republic of China. China's naval intrusion to the Philippine territory since Saturday April 7, 2012 in Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) is a follow-up to its recent forays into Philippine western territorial waters. It is the fifth times where China Intruded the Philippine Territory since June 2011. 

China has confronted Philippine military and civilian vessels in the Recto Bank, Rajah Soliman Reef, Quirino Atoll, Escoda Shoal, and the second to the most recent incident is the Panatag Shoal / Scarborough Shoal. All four lie a few dozen kilometers off Palawan and well within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) but 2,000 km from China's nearest island-province of Hainan; Scarborough is 220 km off Zambales but more than 800 km from Hong Kong. China's pretext of protecting its fishermen and seismic surveyors is not unique. As in the last two decades, it trespasses into Philippine offshore oilfields and abets fish poaching to prop up a shaky counterclaim over the West Philippine (South China) Sea. On May 8, 2013, three Chinese naval ships were spotted by Philippine maritime surveillance vessels surrounding the Ayungin Reef (Second Thomas Shoal). Ayungin Reef is just 105 miles from Palawan and almost 600 miles from the nearest China port and yet China claims the Philippines is illegally occupying Chinese property.

In December 11, 2012, the AFP modernization act also known as Republic Act no. 7898 was amended by Republic Act no. 10349 also known as the Revised AFP modernization Act which extends the modernization program for another 15 years with an initial budget of 75 billion pesos for the first five years in order to continue modernizing all the branches of the AFP. The new amending law was made under the leadership of President Benigno Aquino III. This new law is aimed at building a minimum defense posture. 

The Philippine Navy upgrade 

With the funding allocated by the government to modernize the armed forces, the Philippine Navy has acquired several assets that will gradually boost their capability to carry out their duties in defending the Philippine territory. These acquisitions are part of the Philippine Navy’s Strategic Sail Plan 2020 which aim to establish a credible deterrence capability. The important acquisitions are the two ex-Hamilton class cutters (BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz), three Agusta-Westland AW 109 naval helicopters which are due for delivery in 2014, Large Landing Craft Utility (BRP Tagbanua) and the Multi-purpose Attack Crafts. The last two types are both Philippine-made by Promtech Corp. 

The Multi-purpose Attack Craft (MPAC)

MPACs are brand new units, locally designed CB-90 knock-off, built to PN specs and is used for fast interdiction or rapid troop insertion for special operations even in shallow waters and operates from a mothership. They are classified as landing assault crafts which two of them are named BA 486 and BA 487. One unit procured and operated by DOE and used by forces guarding the Malampaya oil rig, while the other two operated by the PN. Three MPAC Mk.2, incorporating improvements on the Mk.1 have been delivered in 2012. Another batch of 3 MPACs are planned to be procured and announced on March 2013. Up to a total of 42 units are expected to enter service in the near future.

General characteristics:

• could carry sixteen fully equipped soldiers and four crew members or around two tons payload
• made of welded aluminum and Kevlar materials
• fitted with Level 4 Armor Protection (proof against 7.62 mm) covering the wheel house, the transport room and the engine room
• heavily reinforced bow ramp for forceful landing on any unprepared beaches
• low profile stealth-like design
• equipped with the latest navigation system and water jet system that could reach a maximum speed of 40 knots and could reach around 300 nautical miles while traveling on a transit speed of 30 knots
• capable of operating in territorial waters up to "Sea State 3" (slight waves)
• armed with one 12.7 mm (0.5 cal) heavy machine gun with a maximum load of 2,000 rounds and two 7.62mm machine guns with 4,000 rounds 

For a video, please click HERE. 

The Large Landing Craft Utility (BRP Tagbanua)

The Landing Craft Utility (LCU) is a type of boat used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. They are capable of transporting tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers. In the Philippines, we have several landing craft utilities, some of which are foreign-made. The two large landing craft utility vessels --- the BRP Manobo (AT-297) and the BRP Tagbanua (AT 296) are both produced locally. 

BRP Tagbanua is largest Philippine-made naval vessel launched to date. She was named after the Tagbanua tribe mainly residing in Palawan island. The ship was made through the LCU Acquisition Project as a part of the 2002 Revised Reprioritized Project List with an approved budget of PhP 189 million. The contract was awarded on 16 March 2010 to Propmech Corpo-ration, which jointly constructed the ship with Philippine Iron Cons-truction and Marine Works (PICMW). Propmech was respon-sible for the engine and propulsion system, and PICMW Inc. for the hull and ship’s fixtures. Fabrication and construction was done at PICMW's shipyard at Jasaan, Misamis Oriental. The ship was launched on 28 September 2011, and her maiden voyage and sea trial was done on 10–11 November 2011 with from Jasaan, Misamis Oriental to the Navotas port in Manila. She was commissioned together with other naval assets on a ceremony in Manila on 14 December 2011. 

General Characteristics 

• Type: Landing Craft Utility
• Displacement: 579 tonnes (570 long tons)
• Length: 51.43 m (168 ft 9 in)
• Beam: 10.0 m (32 ft 10 in)
• Draft: 1.52 m (5 ft 0 in)
• Depth: 2.44 m (8 ft 0 in)
• Propulsion: Caterpillar CAT C32 ACERT Diesel Marine Engine
• Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h) maximum, 12 knots (22 km/h) cruising speed  
• Capacity: 110 tons cargo @ 250sqm space, 200 passengers
• Crew: 15 

These locally-made vessels prove the Filipino craftmanship and the ability to produce their own equipment not relying on foreign and imported materials. 

Source:

diversityhuman.com

Globalnation.inquirer.net

GMAnetwork
Interaksyon.com
koreanewsonline.blogspot.com

Wikipedia "AFP Modernization Act"
Wikipedia "BRP Tagbanua (AT-296)"
Wikipedia "Philippine Navy MPAC"
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