MANILA — The Department of National Defense (DND) is looking into the pros and cons of acquiring smaller naval craft compared to larger or frigate-sized ships.
“That is one option we are contemplating. There are pros and cons of big ships and so do small ships. We’ll look at our geography and the mission our ships will undertake. Yun ang magiging basis natin sa ating desisyon (That will be the basis of our decision),” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Wednesday.
Lorenzana was responding to comments that it only takes a torpedo or a missile to sink a multi-billion-peso ship like a frigate.
At the moment, the Philippine Navy is awaiting two missile-armed frigates being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and scheduled to be delivered in 2020 and 2021.
The naval vessels, which cost PHP18 billion including their weapons systems and munitions, will back up the three more elderly Del Pilar class-frigates (formerly the Hamilton class cutters) acquired from the United States.
Lorenzana said steel-cutting for the two ships are expected by this month. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
