Philippine Navy acquires Hamilton class patrol craft

**Big_daddy** · March 11th, 2011 03:34 AM

Philippine Navy acquires US patrol ship
Agence France-Presse
Posted at 03/07/2011 3:00 PM | Updated as of 03/07/2011 3:00 PM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Navy said Monday it had bought a large Hamilton-class patrol craft from the United States to help it guard its waters amid tensions over territorial claims, notably with China.

The announcement was made by the new Philippine military chief of staff, Air Force Lieutenant-General Eduardo Oban, as he assumed his post.

"As I speak, Philippine Navy officers are now in the United States... preparing to sail our first Hamilton class navy (vessel) to the Philippines," he said in a speech to troops.

"We shall sustain efforts to modernize our Armed Forces," he added.

Details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but the Navy said in January that acquiring the refurbished, 380-foot (115-meter) vessel was aimed at boosting its border patrol capability.

Monday's announcement came amid fresh tensions between Manila and China over allegations that Beijing's patrol vessels harassed a Philippine oil exploration boat in disputed waters in the South China Sea last week.

After lodging a formal protest, President Benigno Aquino III ordered coast guard escorts for the oil exploration vessel, which was conducting a seismic survey in the Reed Bank, which is close to the disputed Spratly islands.

China has brushed the protest aside, reasserting that the Spratlys, which it calls the Nansha islands, and adjacent waters have always been part of its territory.

The reputedly oil-rich chain are claimed -- in whole or in part -- by China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The new ship will replace the Philippine Navy's flagship, Raja Humabon, a Cannon-class destroyer escort, which is probably one of the world's oldest warships, the Navy has said.

Equipped with a retractable hangar, a helicopter flight deck and powered by a dual engine or gas turbines, the Hamilton is described as a high endurance cutter with close-in weapons systems.

Washington considers the Philippines a major non-NATO military ally and the two countries are bound by a 1951 mutual defense treaty.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/03...us-patrol-ship

It was commissioned in 1965, but its a hell of a lot better than most of what we have in the water now...hope that this is the start of good things for our AFP.

**userfriendly** · March 11th, 2011 08:52 AM

I am for the modernization of our armed forces, but getting a 46 year old boat hardly calls for celebration. Its an antique. Its older than most of the people in this forum. I can not understand how they can call getting 46 year old equipment as modernization.

If we are a major ally of the US, they should at least give us better equipment. They have been scraping the older Perry class frigates. They have transfered them to Poland, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt. They have scraped a few others. Why not give it to us instead of turing it to scrap. The Perry class frigate is a very capable modern design.

**k00k** · March 11th, 2011 11:04 AM

I don't want to have my hopes up, pero sana its the start of something new... Something to show for all the land that AFP has put up for sale/rent.

Nung binasa ko to a few days ago, I looked up our current flagship, the BRP Rajah Humabon. Nasabi ko na lang, "Anak ng pating, matanda pa sa tatay ko to ah!"

**zero** · March 11th, 2011 11:23 AM

ford or chevy engine siguro ang naka-salpak dyan? usdm!

**Big_daddy** · March 11th, 2011 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by userfriendly

I am for the modernization of our armed forces, but getting a 46 year old boat hardly calls for celebration. Its an antique. Its older than most of the people in this forum. I can not understand how they can call getting 46 year old equipment as modernization.

If we are a major ally of the US, they should at least give us better equipment. They have been scraping the older Perry class frigates. They have transfered them to Poland, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt. They have scraped a few others. Why not give it to us instead of turing it to scrap. The Perry class frigate is a very capable modern design.

Yep, I agree with you on that one...but personally for me its a step in the right direction...old as it may be...it can still serve a purpose in our armed forces. Much better than nothing at all.

And yes, those FFG's are really cool ships...fast, nimble and you can squeeze a lot of hardware inside of it...and well built too...if I remember correctly...the USS Stark was a Perry class that got hit by an Exocet but managed to survive.

Let's hope this is just the start...maybe in 50 years we can get our own mini-carriers

**baludoy** · March 11th, 2011 11:03 PM

isn't there a much heralded shipyard in balamban, cebu which has made the news several times for producing hi-tech, high quality, and very large displacement seafaring vehicles? i'm just wondering how come the philippine navy seems to have nothing of there's in their inventory ( as far as i know anyway). baka naman may maibigay pa na better deal pa iyong cebuano-japanese shipbuilding company na iyan even though i understand they're into building civilian natured commercial carriers

**safeorigin** · March 12th, 2011 12:38 AM

hmmm... wonder if it's possible to acquire Skjold class patrol boats for the same price

**safeorigin** · March 12th, 2011 12:57 AM

this is the particular ship they bought

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Hamilton_(WHEC-715)

WHEC-715 specs:

http://www.harpoondatabases.com/ency...Entry1502.aspx

**jpdm** · March 4th, 2012 04:09 PM

Although with defects, the US cutter Dallas reported to be sent to the Philippines, is a welcome addition our poorly equipped Philippine Navy.

Having 2 0r more of these type of ships will put some teeth to our fleet.

**grail80** · March 25th, 2011 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by userfriendly

I am for the modernization of our armed forces, but getting a 46 year old boat hardly calls for celebration. Its an antique. Its older than most of the people in this forum. I can not understand how they can call getting 46 year old equipment as modernization.

If we are a major ally of the US, they should at least give us better equipment. They have been scraping the older Perry class frigates. They have transfered them to Poland, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt. They have scraped a few others. Why not give it to us instead of turing it to scrap. The Perry class frigate is a very capable modern design.

Perry-class frigates are too expensive for us to operate. As far as I know the navy is already looking at obtaining several brand new hulls for its fleet (repeat: brand new, not second hand). In line with 2011 I think there is still the matter of at least 3 OPV/corvettes in the navy's acquisition plan. The problem with brand new ships is that it would take a few years for the manufacturer to assemble and deliver it for our use, and with the recent spat off Palawan the Hamilton is the best choice that we can use immediately and economically. It is a good platform for training our guys and it can patrol off the coast of Palawan for more than a month at a time.