The Philippine Navy formally welcomed its newest guided-missile frigate into service in a ceremony at Naval Operating Base Subic in Zambales province on Tuesday, December 2.
BRP Diego Silang is the second of two Miguel Malvar-class frigates (originally designated as corvettes) built by South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Philippine Navy. Class lead ship BRP Miguel Malvar was delivered earlier this year and is already in service.
The Miguel Malvar-class frigates each have a length of 118.4 metres, a beam of 14.9 metres, and a displacement of 3,200 tonnes. The ships are also each fitted with an AESA radar, a 76mm naval gun, a 35mm close-in weapon system, 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 use by a 12-tonne helicopter.
Diego Silang is named after a Filipino politician and independence activist who led a brief but failed uprising against Spanish colonisers in the northern Philippines' Ilocos region from 1762 until his assassination in 1763.
The Miguel Malvar-class ships were built in fulfilment of a contract awarded in late 2021 by the Philippine Department of National Defense.
Editor's note: Silang's wife Gabriela, who led the revolt following his assassination, 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 and here to view the Philippine Coast Guard's photo coverage of the two vessels meeting for the first time.
