The Philippine Navy’s (PN’s) future BRP Antonio Luna guided-missile frigate left the facilities of South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan on 5 February, en route to the Philippines.
The 107.5 m-long warship, which is the second of two José Rizal-class multirole frigates built for the PN, is expected to arrive five days later at Subic in the Philippines, where it will be formally commissioned following mandatory Covid-19-related testing and quarantine of the crew.
A screengrab from video footage showing Antonio Luna , the second José Rizal-class guided-missile frigate on order for the PN, leaving the HHI shipyard at the South Korean port of Ulsan on 5 February en route for Subic in the Philippines, where it is expected to arrive on 10 February. (Philippine Navy)
The vessel (with pennant number FF 151) was handed over to the service a month ahead of the contractual delivery date of 6 March 2021, said the PN, adding that HHI provided “additional equipment and sustainment items, more training activities, and ship-design improvements, which are over and above its contractual obligations”.
PN Rear Admiral Alberto Carlos, who was part of the Philippine team that cleared the frigate for acceptance and delivery following an inspection process held in late January in Ulsan, was quoted as saying that HHI’s “goodwill gesture has an estimated value of USD7.4 million”.
The vessel, which was launched in November 2019, completed sea acceptance trials off Ulsan on 18 December 2020. First-of-class José Rizal (FF 150) was launched in May 2019, and formally entered service in July 2020.
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