The Philippine Navy (PN) is reportedly planning to procure two additional Pohang-class corvettes from the Republic of Korea Navy.
The proposed acquisition of the vessels will add to the recent procurement of an ex-Korean Navy Pohang-class corvette.
PN acting spokesperson Captain Henry Quinto was quoted by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) as saying: “Yes, the PN is looking and hoping for two more Pohang vessels to ensure that we have at least three ships in its class and it was clear in a message delivered by flag-officer-in-command vice-admiral Robert Empedrad and the secretary of national defense Delfin Lorenzana himself.”
The ex-Korean Navy corvette entered service in May 1987 and arrived in the Philippines on 18 August.
The vessel was commissioned into PN as BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39) at Jinhae Naval Base in Changwon City, South Korea on 5 August.
Conrado Yap will also be used to tackle surface and aerial threats. The ship can accommodate 118 personnel and can perform operations for 20 days.
Quinto added that, if the deal goes through, one of the new ships will be dedicated for patrol duties and the second will undergo training with its crew.
Pohang-class Flight II corvettes have the ability to support anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions.
The corvette features two 76mm Oto Melara automatic guns and two Oto Breda 40mm light cannons. The ship is also equipped with two triple torpedo tubes, a radar and a sonar.
In May, the Philippines acquired two AgustaWestland AW159 anti-submarine helicopters to secure ASW capability.
