BRP Lolinato To-ong (PG-902)

BRP Lolinato To-ong (PG-902) is second ship of the class of the Acero-class patrol gunboat of the Philippine Navy. She was commissioned with the Philippine Navy on 28 November 2022 and is currently in active service with the Littoral Combat Force, Philippine Fleet.

BRP Lolinato To-ong (PG-902)
History
Philippines
NameBRP Lolinato To-ong
NamesakeFirst Lieutenant Lolinato To-ong, PN (Marines), Philippine Medal of Valor Awardee
BuilderIsrael Shipyards Ltd.
Launched26 June 2022
Acquired06 September 2022
Commissioned28 November 2022
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Class and typeAcero-class patrol gunboat
Displacement95 tons full load[1]
Length32.65 m (107.1 ft)[2]
Beam6.2 m (20 ft) max[2]
Draft1.25 ft (0.38 m)[1]
Propulsion
  • 2 × MTU 16V 4000 M70 Diesel Engines
  • 2 x MJP-J650 waterjets
Speedgreater than 40 knots (74 km/h) maximum
Range1,000 nmi (1,900 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement12[2]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Furuno Navnet 3D X-band navigation/surface search radar[2]
  • Rafael Toplite electro-optical tracking system (EOTS)[3]
Armament
  • 1 x Rafael Typhoon MLS-NLOS missile launcher for 8 x Spike-NLOS surface-to-surface missiles
  • 1 × Mk.44 Bushmaster II autocannon mounted on Rafael Typhoon Mk 30-C remote-controlled weapon station
  • 2 × M2HB Browning 12.7 mm/50-cal. heavy machine guns mounted on Rafael Mini Typhoon remote-controlled weapon stations
  • 2 × M60 7.62 mm/30-cal. GP machine guns
Aircraft carriednone
Aviation facilitiesnone

Namesake

First Lieutenant Lolinato To-ong, PN (Marines) was a Philippine Marine Corps officer and a posthumous recipient of the Philippines' highest military award for courage, the Medal of Valor.[4]

Then-First Lieutenant To-ong served with the 52nd Marine Company of the Force Reconnaissance Battalion during the 2000 Philippine campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. In a military operation in Matanog, Maguindanao, To-ong and enlisted Marine Domingo Deluana were themselves wounded while providing suppressive fire to cover the medical evacuation of wounded fellow Marines. Despite their wounds, they continued manoeuvring and providing cover fire until an RPG blast caught the pair. Both To-ong and Deluana were killed in action.[5]

History

In 2019, the Philippine Navy raised a requirement to procure a new class of coastal patrol interdiction craft (CPIC) that would be missile-capable and are based on Israel's Shaldag V patrol boat design, and would replace the Tomas Batilo-class fast attack crafts that have been retired in service.[6][7]

A contract was signed between the (DND), Israel Shipyards Ltd. and Israeli Ministry of Defense on 9 February 2021, with the Notice to Proceed to start the effectivity of the contract released on 27 April 2021.[8][7]

The second boat of the class, the Lolinato To-ong (902), was launched on 26 June 2022.[9] The boat arrived in the Philippines together with its sistership Nestor Acero (901) in early September 2022, and was christened as the BRP Lolinato To-ong (PG-902) on 6 September 2022.[7] Both boats were commissioned with the Philippine Navy on 28 November 2022 and was assigned with the Littoral Combat Force.[7]

The hull number's use of "PG" indicates that the boats are classified as Patrol Gunboats based on Philippine Navy's 2016 naming classification standards.

Design

Armament

The ship class was designed to carry one bow-mounted Mk.44 Bushmaster II autocannon mounted on Rafael Typhoon Mk 30-C remote-controlled weapon station, and two M2HB Browning 12.7 mm/50-cal. heavy machine guns mounted on Rafael Mini Typhoon remote-controlled weapon stations.

It is also one of the few ships of the class that has a Rafael Typhoon MLS-NLOS missile launcher for Spike-NLOS surface-to-surface missiles, which is its primary weapon system that provides a combat reach of up to 25 kilometers (16 miles).

References
  1. Legien, Wolfgang (2011). "Shaldag Fast Patrol Craft" (PDF). Naval Forces IV. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  2. "VESSEL REVIEW NESTOR ACERO – PHILIPPINE NAVY WELCOMES MISSILE-CAPABLE ATTACK BOATS INTO SERVICE". Baird Maritime. 2022-10-17. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  3. https://navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2023/april/13047-israel-delivers-2-new-more-acero-class-patrol-gunboats-to-philippines.html
  4. Fonbuena, Carmela (20 December 2017). "FAST FACTS: List of Medal of Valor awardees and their privileges". Rappler. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  5. Philippine Marine Corps. "Medal for Valor: FIRST LIEUTENANT LOLINATO G TOONG 0-129481 Philippine Navy(Marines)". Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  6. https://www.imdexasia.com/newsbyte/philippine-navy-commissions-two-shaldag-mk-v-attack-craft
  7. "Fast Attack Interdiction Craft - Missile (FAIC-M) Acquisition Project of the Philippine Navy". Philippine Defense Resource. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  8. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/06/israel-shipyards-launches-first-two-fast-patrol-craft-for-philippine-navy/
  9. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1189569
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