PH Navy crew begins training at sea

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Navy personnel tapped to man the country’s second missile-capable frigate BRP Antonio Luna are currently training on the ship off Ulsan, South Korea.

Navy public affairs office chief Lt. Cmdr. Maria Christina Roxas said on Thursday that some 80 personnel who would man BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), which is expected to be delivered sometime in the first quarter of this year, are “conducting hands-on operation [of] the different systems aboard the ship.”

BRP Antonio Luna, like BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), is capable of surface, subsurface, air and electronic warfare.

The contract for the BRP Jose Rizal and the BRP Antonio Luna with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries is at P16 billion with another P2 billion for weapon systems and munitions. —JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE