HHI launches first José Rizal-class frigate for the Philippine Navy.

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has recently launched the first José Rizal-class frigate on order for the Philippine Navy, and laid down the keel for a second ship. This first HDF-3000 frigate is to be delivered in September 2020.

Artist impression of the future frigate underway at sea (Picture Source: HHI)

Ceremonies for both events were held on 23 May at HHI’s facilities in Ulsan, South Korea. José Rizal (Hull 150) and its sister ship, which will be known as BRP Antonio Luna (Hull 151) once in service, were ordered under a US$ 337 million contract awarded to HHI in 2016.

The Jose Rizal-class Frigate is a class of two multi-role semi-stealth frigates to be built for the Philippine Navy, the ships are the derivatives of HDF-3000 frigate design (officially known as HDF-2600 Frigate Design) from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) with a design specifically accommodated to fit the requirements of the Philippine Navy.

The ships will be 107.5 meters long with a displacement of 2,600 tonnes. They will be propelled by four 650KW diesel engines in Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) configuration. Thanks to these engines, the vessels can reach speeds of up to 25 knots and ranges of up to 4,500 nautical miles.

They are fitted with plenty of state-of-the-art sensors and armament systems, including one Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid Gun, one ASELSAN SMASH 30mm secondary gun, four S&T Motiv 12.7mm K6 Heavy Machine Guns, one Close-in weapon system (CIWS), two Twin MBDA Simbad RC anti-air systems capable of firing Mistral missiles, and a single 8-cell Vertical Launching System (VLS). The vessels are also able to accommodate a Leonardo AW-159 Wildcat Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopter.