(Photo courtesy of BRP Antonio Luna Facebook page)
MANILA – Missile-frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) arrived in Guam on Sunday for its first stopover and replenishment before proceeding to Hawaii where the biennial iteration of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise will be held from June 29 to August 4.
"BRP Antonio Luna arrive(d) in Guam yesterday, 12 June 2022 just in time for Independence Day," the ship's Facebook page said in a post on Monday.
It added that the ship docked at the Naval Base Guam.
The ship and its crew along with Naval Task Group NTG (NTG 80.5) left Naval Operating Base Subic last June 8.
Three ceremonies were also held aboard the ship on Sunday to celebrate the ship's safe voyage and the Philippines' 124th Independence Day.
These are the pinning of ranks to newly promoted personnel; awarding of Surface Warfare Operations Badge to selected officers; and turnover of BRP Antonio Luna's operations officer post.
"Capt. (Charles) Villanueva, commanding officer of FF-151 and the commander of NTG 80.5 congratulated the promotees and the newly awarded Surface Warfare Officers. He also thanked the outgoing operations officer Commander Robles for his contributions as one of the members of the ship’s first-ever command team. Further, Capt. Villanueva also welcomed the incoming operations officer Lt. Commander Luza who will be the head of FF-151’s operations department for the upcoming exercise," the post added.
The BRP Antonio Luna's stopover in Guam is intended for replenishment in preparation for its voyage to Hawaii where it will participate in RIMPAC 2022, the world’s largest naval exercise.
RIMPAC is held biennially to promote regional stability in the Pacific Region.
Around 25,000 personnel from 26 participating nations are set to join the 28th iteration of RIMPAC which was first conducted in 1971.
Navy spokesperson Commander Benjo Negranza earlier said NTG 80.5 will help develop, maintain, and enhance the Navy’s pursuit of maritime collaboration with its counterparts through the exercise.
The PN's participation in RIMPAC 2022, themed “Capable, Adaptive, Partners,” will be its third in the largest and premier maritime exercise, after its maiden participation in 2018 and its sophomore run in 2020.
In the 2018 RIMPAC, the Navy deployed the offshore patrol vessel, BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS-17), and the landing dock BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602). In the 2020 iteration of the maritime exercise, the PN sent the country's first missile frigate, the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150).
Both the BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna are capable of anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare operations.
The contract for the two ships was PHP16 billion and an additional PHP2 billion was spent on weapon systems and munitions. (PNA)
