With the Philippine Navy’s expanding operations and growing capabilities, its Air Group is poised to be upgraded to wing status. The restructure of the Naval Air Group, the first time since it was formed 7 decades ago, has become imminent due to increasing demands for maritime situational awareness and expertise. “With this wide reach of Naval Air Group nowadays, the…
This year is a milestone year for the global hydrographic community. 100 years ago or in June 1919, the 1st International Hydrographic Conference was held in London. It marks the beginning towards the creation of an international bureau for hydrography. Today, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is the authoritative worldwide hydrographic body which actively engages all coastal and interested States…
INTRODUCTION The atmospheric characteristics inside the submarine are importantly equal to the submarine’s major ship systems such as propulsions, navigations and sensors, weapons, auxiliaries, etc. A need to ensure an efficient and reliable health and safety of the submarine’s complements and ship machineries from atmospheric pollutants is definitely a must. To achieve and maintain this goal, an atmospheric control system…
On 30-October-2018, the ReCAAP ISC piracy reporting center warned that a faction of the ASG is preparing to launch another round of pirate attacks in the waters off Sabah. According to ReCAAP, the PCG believes that 10 ASG members are planning to conduct kidnappings in East Sabah “at any opportune time.” The ASG fighters do not have specific targets but…
INTRODUCTION A submarine is a hunter killer for as long as she can maintain her stealth. However, when HER PRESENCE in the immediate vicinity of the sea area is detected, then she looses her invincibility and the effective use of her weapons is denied. The submarine becomes the hunted. The exact coordinates or location of the submarine in terms of…
As far back as 1991, I was vocal about investing in our defense, should the government decide to let go of the U.S. bases on account of a provision in the 1987 constitution mandating “no foreign troops on Philippine soil.” Up to that point, the U.S. was our defense shield, and if we were to give it up then we…
The Philippines, being an archipelago, has no land borders with neighboring countries. Unlike some countries in Northern Africa like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, that have problems with porous borders between countries, the Philippines is spared of that kind of border problem. However, while these North African countries share the same stretch of coastline along the Mediterranean Sea, the…
Spain had designed a new submarine. However, the project encountered some physical and engineering problems. In turn, the solutions to these problems created even new problems. At first, it was a design error, which made the submarine unable to float. The solution was to make the submarine longer. As an unfortunate result, the new size of the submarine ended up…
INTRODUCTION Stealth is the main reason for acquiring a submarine. Submarine-warfare is governed by avoiding being detected underwater by controlled sound propagation and crew activities on-board. Submarine invincibility is lost and the effective use of her weapon system would be denied once her presence underwater is detected. The submarine is a sitting duck because her location, rate of motion, and…
Reflecting on Last Year’s Conference The inaugural Disruptive Technology for Defence Transformation conference took place in London on 24-25 October 2017 and examined how disruptive technology will transform defense capability and operations. It was attended by: senior military from many countries; NATO: technology firms such as Google and QinetiQ; leading aerospace and defense companies including Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems;…
The principal role of maritime forces is war fighting. This includes searching for, surveillance of, and combat engagement with the adversary’s battle fleet. The aim is to control the sea lines of communications including the chokepoints or deny their use by the enemy in order to achieve the enduring national interests: territorial integrity and political independence. Maritime forces initiate naval…
We join the Philippine Navy in celebrating its 119th Founding Anniversary in May this year and convey our warmest congratulations for being an active partner in the maritime community and an instrument of peace, progress and stability. With its well-conceived plan of governance but still faced with inadequate resources we are tempted to ask the question: Is it on track…
Five years ago, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf adopted in its entirety the Philippine submission to extend the country’s seabed boundary in the Philippine Sea with the discovery of the Benham Rise Region. The UN concurrence added 135,506 square kilometers, about 45% of the nation’s land area, to Philippine seabed area and the waters…
PART I As clearly proven during the closing days of 2016 and early 2017, terrorism and violence around the world dominated the headlines. Not just the beleaguered Middle East, but also Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, France, Belgium, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines and even the U.S. were not spared wanton killings because of man’s inhumanity to fellowman. According…
In October 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte announced his plans to establish closer ties with Russia and China. Weeks later, he sent Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to Moscow for exploratory talks on defense matters. Accordingly, the Russians offered defense equipment including a submarine and drones. In early January 2017, two Russian Federation Navy (RFN) ships of Russia Federation’s Pacific Fleet made…
The first of two SIGMA Class 10514 Perusak Kawal Rudal (PKR) guided-missile frigates to be built for the Indonesian Navy successfully completed its sea trials last September. The assessment phase began with seven days of basin trials to ensure that the propulsion and safety systems were fully operational before the vessel made the challenging passage from the PT PAL (Persero)…
Task Force 73 commander rear admiral Don Gabrielson said: “The United States deeply values our relationship with Brunei, centered on a defense partnership that underpins our shared commitment to the peace and security of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.”
The popular slogan of President Duterte –“Change is Coming” — enthralled the Filipino people, as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rode that wave of change. Indeed, change had come and the PCG welcomed this wave that would break the long standing shortage in PCG maritime assets. The PCG started to change within as modernization of its fleet had began with…
In the 112th Maritime Forum, I responded positively to the proposal of a former Undersecretary of National Defense, Atty. Fernando Campos to discuss Strategy. He suggested discussing “National Security Scenarios for the post-election period.” Campos was also a former Governor of Cavite and a former Congressman of Cavite. He sent me his discussion paper, THE BIRTH OF A NEW PHILIPPINES:…
During the China-ASEAN Dialogue between Senior Defense Scholars held at Beijing, China on 11 – 15 March 2008, I presented a paper on Confidence-Building Measures Towards Greater Regional Stability. Military modernization in China was being perceived in a way that caused concern to some countries which fear a repeat of the arms race during the Cold War on one hand…
The defense of the Philippines from both internal and external threats is the principal business of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). To enable the AFP to fully perform its mandate, it should possess affordable war fighting capabilities that can also be used for operations other than war (OOTW) like counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief, search and rescue,…
A new series of Damen vessels offers flexibility and reduced total cost of ownership by means of modular mission modules with proven technologies. On 8 June 2016, during the Oceanographic Survey Vessel Conference in London, Damen Shipyards Group announced the introduction of a new range of Multi-Role Auxiliary Vessels (MRAV). The common theme running through the series was the provision…
The 109th Maritime Breakfast Forum (MBF 109) was hosted by the Cebu Ports Authority (CPA) and held at the CPA in Cebu City on 11 February 2016. Commo. Carlos L. Agustin (Ret), President of the Maritime League, called the forum to order at 1:00pm. He announced that instead of only one presentation from the CPA, there will be two other…
…whether it is a parameter or not but certainly applicable in the design and construction of a warship as it is in many, if not all, that we do – Doing It “Right First Time.”
Has the AFP or the Phil. Navy ever made a feasibility study complete with projections of the benefits of the ship building industry in terms of generating capital for the economy and jobs for the people?