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GMA Network
6 hours ago
- General
- GMA Network
PH Navy: US NMESIS anti-ship missiles to remain in country for more exercises
The Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) of the United States will remain in the country where it will take part in more exercises, the Philippine Navy said on Tuesday. 'This is to confirm that the NMESIS is still within the country and it will continue to be used by the Philippine Marine Corps for training purposes,' Philippine Navy spokesperson Captain John Percie Alcos said in a press briefing. 'As to its current location due to operational security, I cannot disclose that. But I can tell you that it's still inside the country,' he added. The NMESIS is a ground-based anti-ship missile system deployed by the United States Marine Corps' Marine Littoral Regiments for coastal defense and maritime security operations. The Naval Strike Missile it fires has a range of up to 300 kilometers. The missile system was initially deployed to the Philippines in April to be used for this year's Balikatan Exercise between US and Filipino forces. The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) and the USMC also trained with NMESIS during the Kamandag Exercise in May. Alcos said the initial plan to use the NMESIS for a live fire exercise in Kamandag did not proceed due to safety precautions. 'However, we simulated the firing. So we were able to make the most out of the training opportunity of having the NMESIS here,' Alcos said. 'And we were not only supposed to fire the NMESIS. It was supposed to be a combined fires exercise. Although the NMESIS was just simulated, we were able to fire the 105mm and 155mm howitzers,' he added. The NMESIS will be the second advanced missile system from the US to be present in Philippine territory. Last March, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomed reports on the second deployment of the US Army's Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) missile system in the country. Typhon can launch multipurpose missiles at targets that are thousands of kilometers away. —RF, GMA Integrated News
RTÉ News
06-05-2025
- General
- RTÉ News
Warship sinks before it can be sunk in US-Philippine drills
The BRP Miguel Malvar, old enough to have seen action in World War II, was scheduled to go out in a blaze of glory today, as a target ship during the annual US-Philippine "Balikatan" military exercises. The 80-year-old vessel, however, would not quite make its own funeral. Onlookers instead watched as the ship, which once chased Japanese submarines and ferried German prisoners as part of the US fleet, sank before the first volley could be fired. "The Balikatan 25 maritime strike targets vessel sank off the west coast of the Philippines prior to the event commencing today," Philippine Navy spokesman John Percie Alcos said in cancelling a planned media event. "Due to rough sea conditions ... and with its long service life... she took on a significant amount of water and eventually sank," he said. Praising it as one of the most-decorated ships in Philippine history, Mr Alcos added the country was proud to be "transitioning to a new and multi-capable navy". After more than 20 years of service, the vessel - then named USS Brattleboro - was sold to the Republic of Vietnam in 1966. The Philippine Navy acquired and refurbished the ship after its crew fled Vietnam following the 1975 fall of Saigon. Balikatan, three weeks of US-Philippine joint exercises aimed at deterring Beijing's ambitions in the disputed South China Sea, is set to end Friday.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ship Sinks Just Before Being Pummeled With Weapons In Pacific Exercise
The planned live-fire sinking exercise (SINKEX) of a decommissioned warship at the Balikatan exercise in the Philippines was struck a blow after the ship in question sank before participants had a chance to pummel it with weapons. At the time of its sinking, the World War II-era corvette BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) was being positioned at the start of the exercise, which continued regardless, as part of the wider Balikatan 2025 maneuvers involving the United States, the Philippines, and Australia. The Miguel Malvar began taking on water in rough sea conditions in a location around 30 nautical miles west of San Antonio, Zambales, Philippines. It sank at 7:20 a.m. local time, shortly before the Maritime Strike (MARSTRIKE) exercise was scheduled to begin. Elements of Balikatan 40-2025 MARSTRIKE live fire cancelled The Balikatan 40-2025 Maritime Strike target vessel sank off the west coast of the Philippines prior to the event commencing today. The decommissioned BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) took on water while being positioned… — Armed Forces of the Philippines (@TeamAFP) May 5, 2025 No personnel were injured in the incident, the Philippine Navy confirmed. According to a Philippine Navy spokesperson, the Miguel Malvar sank just four nautical miles from its intended position for MARSTRIKE. The decommissioned corvette had been selected as the target for the drills on account of its age. The vessel had also undergone environmental cleaning and preparation before it was towed out of its final harbor in Sangley Point, Cavite City. Towing was conducted at speeds of between two and five knots. Although saddened, Alcos said the sinking of the former BRP Miguel Malvar would be symbolic and would serve as a 'new chapter' for the @Philippine_Navy. 'It will serve its purpose to showcase that we have transitioned from a legacy navy into a modern navy,' he said. | via… — ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) April 29, 2025 The Philippine Navy spokesperson confirmed that the vessel hadn't been damaged while under tow, but 'due to rough sea conditions that we are currently experiencing in the exercise box and with its long service life, as is expected, she took on a significant amount of water and eventually sank.' The vessel is much smaller than what we are accustomed to seeing in major SINKEX drills, but does represent the smaller military patrol boats and corvettes that call littorals in this area of the world home. The 914-ton displacement and 184.5-foot-long Miguel Malvar had a long and eventful history, having originally been launched and commissioned in 1944 as the USS Brattleboro (PCE(R)-852), a PCE(R)-848 class rescue patrol craft escort. The warship saw active duty in World War II, in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, including anti-submarine patrols during the invasion of the Philippines and later at Okinawa. After the war, Brattleboro went into the reserve before being converted for trials duty, testing infrared equipment, communications equipment, sonar, and others. Brattleboro was decommissioned in 1965 and then transferred to the South Vietnam Navy, serving as RVN Ngọc Hồi (HQ-12). With the fall of Saigon in 1975, the vessel escaped to the Philippines, was overhauled, and had armament reinstated. The warship was commissioned by the Philippine Navy in 1977 as the Miguel Malvar. The 1990s saw the vessel undergo a major overhaul, including refitting of weapons and sensors, but it was finally decommissioned in 2021. 'The MARSTRIKE remains unchanged as part of Balikatan 40-2025's command post exercise, where the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. joint task forces will rehearse virtual and constructive fire missions,' the Philippine Navy said, in the wake of the incident. Despite the loss of the target ship, 'elements of the scheduled MARSTRIKE live-fire event will occur and the combined force will still achieve its training objectives,' the Philippine Navy added. 'The Notice to Mariners and Notice to Airmen surrounding the MARSTRIKE location remains in effect.' As part of the broader Balikatan 40-2025 exercises, the MARSTRIKE saw the integration of Philippine and U.S. ground, maritime, and air-based sensors and shooters into a combined, joint fires network. The Australian Defense Force was also involved. Ahead of the MARSTRIKE event, the U.S. Marine Corps had confirmed to TWZ that 'air and maritime-based kinetic fires' would be used to target the decommissioned ship but didn't provide further details. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy provided a list of air assets, some or all of which were expected to take part in the MARSTRIKE. These comprised U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornets and MV-22B Ospreys, and Philippine Air Force FA-50 light combat aircraft, A-29 Super Tucano light-attack turboprops, and T129 ATAK combat helicopters. As you can read about here, Marine Hornets have an increasingly important maritime strike role in the Indo-Pacific area of operations, with their armament including AGM-84D Harpoon anti-ship missiles. On the maritime side, the Philippine Navy previously confirmed that it planned to fire its LIG Nex 1 C-Star anti-ship missiles during the MARSTRIKE. These South Korean-made subsonic sea-skimming missiles arm the Philippine Navy warships, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), the most modern in that country's fleet. The Philippine Navy previously employed the C-Star in the live-fire component of Balikatan last year, targeting a decommissioned tanker. Meanwhile, Philippine Navy Mistral shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles would be fired for the first time from the same warships, part of the air defense component of the maneuvers. Other Philippine Navy missiles slated for live fire during Balikatan include the Spike NLOS, which arms its Acero class fast attack craft. Also included in Balikatan for the first time is the U.S. Marine Corps' Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), armed with Naval Strike Missiles that are mounted on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. During the exercise, NMESIS was deployed by U.S. Air Force C-130s to an operating position on Batan Island, although, from here, its range of around 110 nautical miles would have put it out of reach of the Miguel Malvar. You can read more about NMESIS and the significance of its deployment in the Philippines here. With China asserting its claims over the South China Sea with increasing aggression, including repeated clashes with Philippine maritime forces, the annual Balikatan drills are becoming more important in the context of U.S.-Philippine cooperation. Even without its main target, the MARSTRIKE will have provided a useful opportunity to practice integration between the U.S. military and two of its key allies in the Indo-Pacific region. Our Marines are taking part in the 40th iteration of Exercise Balikatan alongside the Armed Forces of the Philippines. — 3d Marine Division (@3d_Marine_Div) April 28, 2025 Nevertheless, the premature sinking of the Miguel Malvar remains unfortunate, depriving those forces of a valuable chance to gather data about weapon effectiveness as part of an end-to-end live-fire exercise. Contact the author: thomas@
The Star
05-05-2025
- General
- The Star
Warship sinks before it can be sunk in US-Philippine drills
This handout photo taken and released on Monday, May 5, 2025 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines shows the decommissioned BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) being positioned at its intended location during the US-Philippines joint military "Balikatan" exercise off the coast of San Antonio, Zambales. The BRP Miguel Malvar, old enough to have seen action in World War II, was scheduled to go out in a blaze of glory May 5, as a target ship during the annual US-Philippine "Balikatan" military exercises. - AFP MANILA (AFP): The BRP Miguel Malvar, old enough to have seen action in World War II, was scheduled to go out in a blaze of glory Monday, as a target ship during the annual US-Philippine "Balikatan" military exercises. The 80-year-old vessel, however, would not quite make its own funeral. Onlookers instead watched as the ship, which once chased Japanese submarines and ferried German prisoners as part of the US fleet, sank before the first volley could be fired. "The Balikatan 25 maritime strike targets vessel sank off the west coast of the Philippines prior to the event commencing today," Philippine Navy spokesman John Percie Alcos said in cancelling a planned media event. "Due to rough sea conditions ... and with its long service life... she took on a significant amount of water and eventually sank," he said Praising it as one of the most-decorated ships in Philippine history, Alcos added the country was proud to be "transitioning to a new and multi-capable navy". After more than 20 years of service, the vessel -- then named USS Brattleboro -- was sold to the Republic of Vietnam in 1966. The Philippine Navy acquired and refurbished the ship after its crew fled Vietnam following the 1975 fall of Saigon. Balikatan, three weeks of US-Philippine joint exercises aimed at deterring Beijing's ambitions in the disputed South China Sea, is set to end Friday. - AFP
