A WARSHIP that has been decommissioned by the Philippine Navy warship will be subjected to strikes by American and Philippines forces today until it sinks.
The maritime strike exercise, which will be held off Zambales, is one of the highlights of the annual “Balikatan” exercises between the United States and Philippine militaries.
“We hope to achieve joint and combined interoperability and (showcase) the lethality of our weapon systems,” said Balikatan spokesman Brig. Gen. Michael Logico said yesterday.
The US and Philippine assets will take turns in hitting the BRP Miguel Malvar during the maritime strike, one of the many training activities lined up during the 19-day Balikatan exercise that started on April 21.
“Tomorrow, we will be sinking the former BRP Miguel Malvar … We will be engaging it beyond 12 nautical miles (territorial sea), approximately 30 to 40 nautical miles off the coast of Zambales,” Logico said.
Logico said the Philippine military will use its F-50 fighter jets and A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft.
Philippine Navy ships will also be featured in the activity with fast attack interdiction craft firing their Spike NLOS (Non-Line of Sight) missile system, Logico said.
The frigate BRP Antonio Luna, he added, will also fire its C-Star surface-to-surface cruise missile during the exercise.
Logico said the US military will be use its F16 and F-18 fighter jets and bomber aircraft.
On whether the Americans will use their NMESIS (Navy-Marine Expeditionary Interdiction System) anti-ship missile system, Logico said, “No comment.”
The NMESIS arrived in the Philippines on April 14 and was deployed in Batan Island, Batanes on April 26. The Balikatan information bureau said this provided the two sides a “flexible and expedient sea denial capacity, contributing to the collective defense of both countries.”
Asked if President Marcos Jr will witness the maritime strike training, Logico said, “Yes. But we are waiting for the confirmation. I cannot say anything more than that.”
This is the third maritime strike training that will be conducted under Balikatan — last year and in 2023 when BRP Lake Caliraya and BRP Pangasinan, respectively, served as targets for sinking.
On Saturday, American and Filipino troops held another counter-landing and live fire exercises in Aparri, Cagayan also under this year’s Balikatan. The first was held in Rizal, Palawan on April 28.
The latest counter-landing and live fire exercise involved the Sabrah battle tanks, light armored vehicles, Autonomous Truck Mounted System or ATMOS 155mm self-propelled howitzers, and 105 howitzers from the AFP.
The Americans used F-16 fighter jets, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.
The drill simulation “highlighted the detection of an Amphibious Task Group representing a threat force attempting to land along the northern coastline,” the Balikatan information bureau said.
“In rapid response, joint Philippine-US forces executed a coordinated counter-landing operation to prevent them from establishing a foothold in the area, demonstrating combined strength and seamless interoperability,” it added.
It said that through the activity, the two sides “demonstrated the precision and combat readiness of allied forces and reinforced their shared resolve to protect strategic coastal areas and uphold maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.”
