The future 124-meter Landing Platform Dock for the Philippine Navy is based on an improved Tarlac-class (above) design.
Class overview
Nameunnamed class
BuildersPT PAL Indonesia
Operators Philippine Navy
Preceded byTarlac-class landing platform dock
CostPH₱2.78 billion (~US$50.5M) per ship [1]
Built2023-2025
In commission2026-2027 (expected)
Planned2
Building1
General characteristics
TypeLanding Platform Dock
Displacement7,200 tons (maximum)
Length124 m (406 ft 10 in)
Beam21.8 m (71 ft 6 in)
Draft6.7 m (22 ft 0 in)
Installed power4 × diesel generators
Propulsion
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) @ 85% MCR
Range9,360 nmi (17,330 km; 10,770 mi) @ 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) cruising speed
Endurance30 days (crew), 15 days (full)
Boats & landing
craft carried
  • 2 × LCU or LCM at floodable well decks
  • 2 × RHIB or LCVP at boat davits
  • Capacity to carry 2 x Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) Mk. 3 interdiction boats[2]
Capacity500 troops plus associated vehicles and equipment
Complement121 crew (including air crew)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • X-band & S-band navigational radars
  • Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) camera
  • Combat management system (planned)
  • Surface search radar (planned)
  • Air search radar (planned)
  • Electro-Optical Fire Control System (planned)
  • Hull-mounted sonar (planned)
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Electronic Warfare Suite (planned)
  • 4 × six-tube Terma C-Guard mortar-type decoy launchers (planned)
Armament
Aircraft carried2 x 10-ton naval helicopter
Aviation facilities
  • Hangar for one medium (10-ton) helicopter
  • Flight deck for two medium (10-ton) helicopters

The Philippine Navy is expecting the delivery of two new 124-meter landing platform docks acquired under its Landing Dock Acquisition Project under the Revised AFP Modernization Program's Horizon 2 phase covering years 2018 to 2022.[1]

The Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) signed a contract with Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia on 24 June 2022, with the shipbuilder delivering a variant of their improved 123-meter Strategic Sealift Vessel / Tarlac-class design.[1][3][4][5]

The ships are not yet named, and construction started during a steel cutting ceremony of the first ship of the class on 10 August 2023.[6]

Development

Concept Design

The Philippine Navy included plans to procure 2 new landing platform docks as part of its Horizon 2 modernization phase, with the proposal with a budget of PHP5.56 billion among those approved in-principle by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2018.[1][7] This would allow the Philippine Navy to increase its sealift and amphibious assault capabilities to reach its planned overall capability.[5]

According to the technical specifications released as part of the project's tender documents, the ship will have improvements over the current Tarlac-class landing platform docks, despite both classes originating from a similar base design.[5] The improvements were formulated based on the Philippine Navy's experience in operating the Tarlac-class, and knowing its strengths and shortcomings.[5]

Armaments

The Philippine Navy released information to tenderers that the ships are to be built with allowance for a 76-millimeter (3.0 in) Oto Melara 76mm Super Rapid main gun, two 30mm Aselsan SMASH secondary guns, either the Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millennium Gun or the Aselsan GOKDENIZ gun-based close-in weapon systems, and 8 manually-operated 12.7mm heavy machine guns.[1]

PT PAL confirmed in released proposals that their submitted landing docks design allows for a 76-millimeter (3.0 in) (3 in) main gun on the foredeck, two stern-facing 30 mm (1.2 in) secondary guns will also be fitted, one each on the port and starboard sides.[1] The weapons systems are supposed to be installed separately by the Philippine Navy after delivery.

Flight support

Originally, the ships were designed to accommodate two medium-sized (10-ton) helicopters on the flight deck, and one similar-sized helicopter on the hangar, with the specifications emphasizing the US-made Sikorsky Black Hawk and Italian-made AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter as basis. But changes in the Philippine Navy's requirement later on changed the design to have a hangar for one medium (10-ton) helicopter and a flight deck for two medium (10-ton) helicopters.

Construction

The fist landing platform dock has officially started its construction on 10 August 2023 where a first steel cutting ceremony was held in PT PAL's facility in Surabaya, Indonesia.[6] It is expected that the ship would be completed by 2024, and delivered to the Philippine Navy by 2025.

Ships of class

Hull number Ship name Laid down Launched Commissioned Service Status
TBC TBC Sealift Amphibious Force Under construction
TBC TBC Sealift Amphibious Force For construction

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Landing Docks Acquisition Project". Philippine Defense Resource. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Montero, Max (2019-06-18). "Discussing the Technical Requirements of the 2 new Landing Platform Docks for the Philippine Navy". MaxDefense Philippines. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  3. ↑ "Philippines Procures Two More LPD From Indonesia's PT PAL". Naval News. 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  4. ↑ "Indonesian firm to build 2 more landing docks for PH". Philippine News Agency. 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "The Philippine Navy's Landing Docks Acquisition Project". Pitz Defense Analysis. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 "PT PAL Begins Construction Of The Philippine Navy's LPD". Naval News. 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  7. ↑ Mangosing, Frances (10 June 2022). "Navy buying more new ships". Inquirer.net. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
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