Philippine Navy's frigate Jose Rizal arrives in South Korea for maintenance.

According to information published by Yonhap on June 15, 2023, the frigate BRP Jose Rizal from the Philippine Navy, has entered a shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea for depot maintenance.
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Philippine Jose Rizal class frigate BRP Jose Rizal. (Picture source: Philippine Navy)

South Korea has consistently been a significant arms donor and supplier to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, contributing various military equipment over the years.

This includes several F-5A/B fighter jets, which were extensively utilized by the Philippine Air Force in their domestic military operations against communist and Muslim separatist insurgents before being decommissioned. South Korea has also provided T-41 trainer planes.

In 2014, South Korea donated a Pohang-class corvette, the ROKS Chungju, to the Philippine Navy. After a period of refitting, this vessel was commissioned as the BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) on August 5, 2019.

Beyond these donations, the South Korean government has numerous contracts with the Philippines, supplying a variety of military hardware that ranges from small arms and armored tactical vehicles to missile frigates and multirole fighters.

About the frigate

BRP Jose Rizal is equipped with four MTU-STX 12V2000-M41B diesel generators, each generating about 650 kW (872 shp). Her propulsion comes from a Combined Diesel and Diesel (CODAD) arrangement with four MTU-STX 12V1163-TB93 12-cylinder diesel engines.

The frigate can reach speeds of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), with a range of 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) and an endurance of 30 days.

Jose Rizal can carry 2 RHIB boats and has accommodation for 110 personnel, comprising a crew of 65, 25 non-organic personnel, and 20 additional personnel.

She is equipped with sophisticated sensors and processing systems, including a Hanwha Systems Naval Shield Baseline 2 Integrated CMS, a Hensoldt TRS-3D Baseline D multi-mode phased array C-band radar, and a Selex ES NA-25X fire control radar among others.

The frigate is armed with an OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid gun, an Aselsan SMASH 30 mm gun, four S&T Motiv K6 .50 cal (12.7 mm) guns, four LIGNex1 SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship missiles, and two MBDA Mistral Simbad-RC twin launchers among other armaments.