The Philippine Navy will take delivery of the first of two new corvettes in early April following completion in South Korea, local newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
Vice Admiral Jose Ma. Ambrosio Ezpeleta, Philippine Navy Flag Officer in-Command, said earlier this week that the formal handover of the future BRP Miguel Malvar will occur on the same day that sister ship BRP Diego Silang will be launched into the water for the first time.
Both corvettes are being built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in fulfilment of a contract awarded in late 2021 by the Philippine Department of National Defense.
The future Miguel Malvar has a length of 118.4 metres, a beam of 14.9 metres, and a displacement of 3,200 tonnes. Notable features include an AESA radar, a 76mm naval gun, a 35mm close-in weapon system (CIWS), 12.7mm machine guns, anti-ship cruise missiles, and a vertical launch system for surface-to-air missiles.
Aviation facilities include a flight deck and hangar for a 12-tonne helicopter.
The future Miguel Malvar honours a Filipino general who fought in the Philippine Revolution from 1896 to 1898 and the Philippine-American War. The future Diego Silang is meanwhile named after the leader of a brief but failed uprising against Spanish colonisers between 1762 and 1763.
Editor's note: Silang's wife Gabriela, who led the revolt following his assassination in 1763, is the namesake of BRP Gabriela Silang, an offshore patrol vessel that was delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard in 2020. Click here to read Baird Maritime's vessel review of Gabriela Silang.