Skip to main content
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation (Sticky)

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
    • Innovation for Sea Power
    • Marine Corps
    • Naval Intelligence
    • Naval and Maritime Photo
  • Current Issue
  • The Proceedings Podcast
  • American Sea Power Project
  • Contact Proceedings
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues
Jose Rizal
The Jose Rizal taking part in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in 2020.
U.S. Navy (R. Madanat]

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
    • Innovation for Sea Power
    • Marine Corps
    • Naval Intelligence
    • Naval and Maritime Photo
  • Current Issue
  • The Proceedings Podcast
  • American Sea Power Project
  • Contact Proceedings
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues

Jose Rizal-Class Frigates: A Giant Leap For The Philippine Navy

By Eric Wertheim
June 2022
Proceedings
Vol. 148/6/1,432
Combat Fleets
View Issue
Comments

The Philippine Navy frigates Jose Rizal and Antonio Luna were ordered in 2016 and form the two- ship Jose Rizal class. These new warships provide the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally and archipelago nation of more than 7,000 islands and 112 million people, with the beginnings of a modem surface fleet.

Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea, and based on South Korea’s Incheon class (FFX), the two warships incorporate signature-reduction features and are the most advanced combatants ever designed for and acquired by the Philippine fleet. Construction began on the class in 2018, and the Jose Rizal was launched in May 2019 and entered service in July 2020. Sister Antonio Luna was launched in November 2019 and commissioned in March 2021 Displacing 2,600 tons and measuring 353 feet long with a 43-foot beam and 12-foot draft, they are part of a recent drive toward modernization for the Philippine armed forces, which had a gun- only navy until 2018.

 Jose Rizal


The Jose Rizal taking part in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in 2020. Credit: U.S. Navy (R. Madanat]

Sensors on board the frigates include the TRS-3D multimode phased-array radar for detecting and tracking air and surface targets, SharpEye Mk 11 navigation radars, and an identification friend-or-foe system. An electro-optic sensor is carried for surveillance and targeting, while decoy launchers and electronic support measures are carried for self-defense.

The ships have been outfitted for a wide variety of weapons, not all of which are planned for service in the near term. Reports indicate that the vessels are fitted for the Type 997 hull- mounted sonar and could eventually carry a towed array. Rails are fitted amidships for four South Korean SSM- 700K Hae Seong (Sea Star) sea-skimming antiship missiles with a range of 100 nautical miles. A 76-mm multipurpose naval gun is carried forward, and space is reserved for an eight-cell vertical launch system abaft the gun.

For air defense, the ships are armed with two Simbad-RC launchers, each carrying two Mistral-3 short-range surface-to-air missiles. The Simbad launchers and a 30-mm remotely controlled stabilized gun are mounted atop the helicopter hangar. The hangar and landing deck can accommodate a single AW-159 Wildcat antisubmarine helicopter. Blue Shark lightweight torpedoes recently entered service and can be fired from the AW-159 or launched directly via two triple torpedo tubes. Two rig- id-hull inflatable boats can be deployed via davits for interceptor duties.

Primary missions for the frigates include detection and potential neutralization of air, surface, and submarine threats, protection of maritime choke points and trade and logistics routes, and patrol of the Philippines’ large coastline, which extends more than 20,000 miles. The Jose Rizal and Antonio Luna each have a complement of 110 personnel and are powered by four diesel engines enabling a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 4,500 nm at 15 knots.

Eric Wertheim

Mr. Wertheim, a defense consultant in the Washington, D.C., area, is the author of the 16th edition of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World from the Naval institute Press.

More Stories From This Author View Biography

Related Articles

Karel Doorman
P Combat Fleets

The Royal Netherlands Navy’s JSS Karel Doorman

By Eric Wertheim
April 2022
The Joint Support Ship Karel Doorman is the largest warship in the Royal Netherlands Navy.
South Korea’s KDX III
P Combat Fleets

South Korea’s KDX III: The Most Heavily Armed Aegis Warship Afloat

By Eric Werthiem
March 2022
KDX III Sejong Daewang–class guided-missile destroyers operated by the Republic of Korea are the third iteration in the Korean Destroyer Experimental (KDX) program.
 Project 22160 patrol ship
P Combat Fleets

Russia’s Modular Black Sea Patrol Assets

By Eric Wertheim
February 2022
Built to fulfill the requirement for modern long-range patrol vessels for the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet, the Project 22160 patrol ship answers the call with an innovative modular design.

Quicklinks

Footer menu

  • About the Naval Institute
  • Books & Press
  • Naval History
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Oral Histories
  • Events
  • Naval Institute Foundation
  • Photos & Historical Prints
  • Advertise With Us
  • Naval Institute Archives

Receive the Newsletter

Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations.

Sign Up Now
Example NewsletterPrivacy Policy
USNI Logo White
Copyright © 2025 U.S. Naval Institute Privacy PolicyTerms of UseContact UsAdvertise With UsFAQContent LicenseMedia Inquiries
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
×

You've read 1 out of 5 free articles of Proceedings this month.

Non-members can read five free Proceedings articles per month. Join now and never hit a limit.