13 Februari 2023
Ambassador Pedro "Junie" Laylo, Jr. and Commodore Carlo Lagasca attended the sea trial ceremony for two Philippine Navy (PN) vessels at the Israel Shipyards in Haifa.
The two patrol gunboats (Fast Attack Interdiction Craft – Missile / FAIC-Ms) are part of the nine vessels the PN is procuring under Horizon 2 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program.
Under the PHP 10 billion project, Israel Shipyards will build six vessels in Haifa while three boats will be built in PN’s shipyard in Cavite. Two of the FAIC-Ms have already entered service in the PN while the two inspected by the Philippine delegation are expected to be delivered in April 2023.
Ambassador Laylo and the PN team, accompanied by Defense and Armed Forces Attaché Col. Ewald Manay, were welcomed to the Israel Shipyards facility by SK Group Chair Samy Katsav and CEO Eitan Zucker.
The Philippine Embassy in Israel continues to play an important role in facilitating the procurement of key defense articles and military equipment to strengthen and modernize the capabilities of the AFP.