The Philippine government is acquiring a fourth batch of Multi-Purpose Attack Crafts (MPACs) for the Philippine Navy. These MPACs will be the 10th, 11th, and 12th.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) for the said acquisition with an amount of PHP270,160,000.00.
MaxDefense Philippines said that Propmech Corporation and Lung Teh Shipbuilding would be at the forefront again, considering they supplied the last 3 batches of earlier MPACs.
“It is also expected that this batch of MPACs will be armed with missiles, most probably Rafael’s Spike-ER similar to those to be armed on the MPAC Mk.3, and would be funded and acquired separately from the MPACs itself,” MaxDefense said.
The 7th, 8th, 9th MPACs which are Mark IIIs were built by the joint venture of Filipino shipbuilder Propmech Corporation and Taiwanese builder Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. in Propmech’s facilities in Subic.
These MPACs – BA-488, BA-489, and BA-490 – were activated in Navy service in May 2017.
MPAC Mark IIIs will be armed with the Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd’s Spike ER (extended range) in anti-ship mode capable of penetrating 1,000 mm (39 inches) of rolled homogeneous armor and has a maximum range of five miles.