- Yes
- No
- Israel Coastal Tree
- As part of a Philippine subtree (either as part of ASEAN / Japan)
- I voted No
Acero Class Patrol Gunboat
Securing the Philippine Coastline
BRP Herminigildo Yurong (PG-906) testing the Spike NLOS system
OVERVIEW
With the retirement of the Tomas Batilo Class Fast Attack Craft, the Philippine Navy was then in dire need for a replacement for coastal patrol interdiction duties. This role was supposed to be fulfilled by the Taiwanese-built Multi-Purpose Assault Craft but this was later found to be insufficient for the duties it needed to fulfill - which was more suited to troop insertions and as a small missile boat.
It was then that the PN began looking for another design that would fulfill its FAIC requirements - which was when Israel Shipyards Ltd. stepped in renewing their offer of the Shaldag V Patrol Boat design offered way back in 2016. A contract was then signed in April 2021 and the first of its class named BRP Nestor Acero (PG-901) was launched the next year. With the reopening of the Cavite Naval Yard - the Philippines was to domestically produce the boat under license as it was planned to have a total of 15 boats for service.
It is important to note that this is a unique tailor-made variant of the Shaldag V FAIC design, as well as that it is only the Philippines that operates this specific variant of the Shaldag Family.
SPECIFICATIONS
Before we talk about the technical specifications of the Acero-Class Patrol Gunboats for the Philippine Navy, it is important to note that initial deliveries of the class did not include the fitting of the Spike-NLOS missiles but the Rafael MLS-NLOS missile launcher was fitted or at least a space was reserved for it in the design. It was only with the later deliveries starting from PG-906 BRP Herminigildo Yurong that they fitted the Spike-NLOS missiles.
For the purposes of this suggestion, this will focus only on those latter ships for its specifications - however it might be interesting for some to have the Spike missiles as something you need to upgrade to gain access to it in exchange for a slightly lower BR.
| Characteristic | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Patrol Gunboat |
| Displacement | 95 tons full load |
| Length | 32.65 m (107.1 ft) |
| Beam | 6.2 m (20 ft) max |
| Draft | 1.25 m (4.1 ft) |
| Propulsion | 2 × MTU 16V 4000 M70 Diesel Engines, 2 x MJP-J650 waterjets |
| Speed | greater than 40 knots (74 km/h) maximum |
| Range | 1,000 nmi (1,900 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Complement | 12 |
| Sensors and processing systems | Furuno Navnet 3D X-band navigation/surface search radar, Rafael Toplite electro-optical tracking system (EOTS) |
| Armament | 1 x Rafael Typhoon MLS-NLOS missile launcher for 8 x Spike-NLOS surface-to-surface missiles, |
| 1 × Mk.44 Bushmaster II autocannon mounted on Rafael Typhoon Mk 30-C remote-controlled weapon station, | |
| 2 × M2HB Browning 12.7 mm/50-cal. heavy machine guns mounted on Rafael Mini Typhoon remote-controlled weapon stations, | |
| 2 × M60 7.62 mm/30-cal. GP machine guns |
PHOTOS
SOURCES