12 Agustus 2020
A CGI of the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) Frigates of the Philippine Navy (PN) together with their AW159 Wilcat Helicopters (image : PN)
MANILA – Due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), the sister ship of missile-frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), is expected to be delivered by January or February next year.
"We are expecting FF-151 January or February 2021, still ahead of the delivery date per contract, which is March 2021," said Philippine Navy (PN) chief, Vice Adm. Giovnni Carlo Bacordo, in a message to the Philippine News Agency Monday afternoon.
Earlier, the PN said the delivery for the country's second missile-frigate is projected for October 2020 but this was pushed back to early next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"If not for this Covid-19 pandemic, the second frigate (FF-151) should have been delivered by October this year but because of this pandemic, it will be moved to the first quarter of Calendar Year 2021," Bacordo earlier said in an online forum.
BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) was launched on November 8, 2019 at the Ulsan facility of South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Its keel-laying on May 23, 2019 coincided with the launch of BRP Jose Rizal.
The contract for the BRP Jose Rizal and the BRP Antonio Luna was placed at PHP16 billion with another PHP2 billion for weapon systems and munitions.
These ships are capable of conducting anti-air warfare (AAW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and electronic warfare (EW) operations.
(PNA)