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The Philippines has signed a $573 million deal for six offshore patrol vessels with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for six offshore patrol vessels, marking Manila’s latest incremental step to strengthen its steadily modernizing but regionally laggard navy.

The new ships will incorporate requirements from the previous Jose Rizal-class frigate project to break into the international offshore patrol vessel (OPV) market, according to a media statement by HHI cited by Naval News,

Defense iQ defines OPVs as small surface ships designed for coastal defense that are well-equipped to perform diverse roles such as maritime security, border control, anti-smuggling, counter-terrorism and disaster relief.

A graphic released by HHI in Janes shows that the Philippines’ new South Korean-built OPVs will likely be a variant of the HD-1500 class.

HHI describes this class as an export-oriented, stealthy design with extended range and endurance that can perform the whole gamut of OPV missions – including Exclusive Economic Zone protection, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, search and rescue and anti-surface warfare – and can be outfitted with various modules for special missions.

According to HHI, the Philippines’ new OPVs will have an overall length of 94.4 meters, a width of 14.3 meters, 22-knot maximum speed, 15-knot cruising speed, and a maximum range of 5,500 nautical miles.

In addition, the OPVs will have a 76-mm gun as their main armament, two 30-mm secondary guns, and a flight deck for helicopters and drones. All six ships will be built in Ulsan, with the last ship slated for completion in 2028.

Given the Philippines’ archipelagic configuration, large EEZ, small budget for naval modernization and limited number of maritime assets, OPVs are indispensable for performing those roles at less cost than corvettes or frigates.

Currently, the Philippines has a small fleet of larger OPVs consisting of the Philippine Coast Guard’s two 94-meter multirole response vessels (MRRV) from Japan and two 84-meter OPV 270 ships from France.

Rounding out this small fleet of modern OPVs are the Philippine Navy’s three Vietnam War-era 115-meter ex-US Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutters, which are currently the country’s largest OPVs.

The Philippines faces a significant numbers gap of large patrol vessels, as its 2012 Desired Force Mix shows a requirement of 18 OPVs for minimal EEZ protection. According to those criteria, it still needs 11 more vessels of the type to cover its large maritime territories including in the contested South China Sea.

South Korea has recently become the largest supplier of naval vessels to the Philippines. As Naval News points out, South Korea delivered the first Jose Rizal-class frigate in 2020, with both countries signing a contract last December for two HD-3100 class corvettes to be delivered by 2026. The two sides also initiated talks about submarine sales to the Philippines last year.

While the US is the Philippines’ traditional defense partner, the high costs of US military equipment has apparently spurred a search for alternative, less-expensive suppliers.

Case in point: Last year, the US approved the potential sale of 12 F-16 Block 70/72 fighters to the Philippines in a contract worth $2.3 billion. Yet, Philippine Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said in the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the jets were unaffordable and that the Philippine Air Force is seeking other options, Aviation International News reported last year.

The Philippines is thus considering acquiring more South Korean FA-50 light combat aircraft as a stand-in for full-fledged multirole fighter jets, the state-owned Philippine News Agency reported in June.

South Korea is on a roll in securing the Philippines as a captured market for its growing and increasingly export-oriented defense industry, as it positions itself as an alternative supplier of Western-standard equipment at a fraction of the prices charged by US and European manufacturers.

Sanghoon Nam, chief operating officer of HHI’s naval and special ship business unit, reflected Seoul’s growing success in exporting sophisticated naval vessels when he commented as quoted in Naval Today on the Philippines’ newly-inked corvette contract:

“I feel proud of the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Korea Defense industry cooperation getting stronger day by day,” he reportedly said

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