The Philippine Navy is expecting the delivery of six new offshore patrol vessels acquired under its Offshore Patrol Vessel Acquisition Project under the Revised AFP Modernization Program's Horizon 2 phase covering years 2018 to 2022.[1] [2] The Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) signed a contract with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries on 27 June 2022,[3] with the shipbuilder delivering a variant of their HDP-2200+ offshore patrol vessel design.[1]
The ships are as of yet unnamed, with the designation 'HDP-2200' being the marketing designation used by HHI to refer to the type and tonnage of the vessel according to its own product designation system.
In an interview at Euronaval 2022, an HHI representative stated that the estimated timeline for delivery for the vessel is from 2025 onwards.
In a 2023 September interview with DZBB to vice commander Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia, he estimated that the navy would receive the ordered 6 HDP-2400 OPVs starting from around 2026-2028 which was worth around PHP30 billion.[4]
The Philippine Navy included plans to procure 6 new next generation offshore patrol vessels as part of its Horizon 2 modernization phase, with the proposal with a budget of PHP30billion (US$555 million) among those approved in-principle by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2018.[5]
During the pre-procurement development phase, the Technical Working Group (TWG) assigned for the project has used the Philippine Navy's experience in specifying and building its latest warship, the, as there were numerous lessons learned from the project's development and construction from 2016 to 2020.
Based on open source information,[1] the new patrol vessels would be smaller, less equipped and less armed than frigates and corvettes, and designed more for low to medium intensity conflicts and peacetime operations.
Sensors were believed to include the following:[1] [6]
Weapon systems required by the specifications are the following:[1]
Several offers were made to the Philippine Navy to meet the requirements for new OPVs, including proposals coming from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries,[7] Turkey's ASFAT,[8] Israel Shipyards, Thailand's Bangkok Dock Company,[9] France's Naval Group, Dutch shipbuilder Damen Group, and India's Goa Shipyard.[1]
The Department of National Defense eventually decided for the project to be procured under negotiated process, and undertaken through Government-to-Government (G2G) process, which means a support and participation of the government of the shipbuilder's country of origin.[1]
By 2021, South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries and Turkey's ASFAT were shortlisted for the project. HHI offered their HDP-1500 Neo patrol vessel design.[10] On the other hand, ASFAT offered a revised version of their VARD-7 86-meter patrol vessel design.[11]
Ultimately, Hyundai Heavy Industries was selected as the winning contractor for the project, with a Notice of Award released by the DND around May or June 2022, and a contract signed on 27 June 2022.[3]
During the contract signing with the Philippine Department of National Defense, Hyundai Heavy Industries indicated that their offer will be based on their 2,400-ton HDP-2400 corvette design.[3] [12] It is an enlarged and improved design of the HDP-1500 Neo which was believed to be the benchmark of HHI's offer to the Philippines[2] and was first unveiled at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition (MADEX) 2022 in South Korea,[13] with an enlarged hull and other improvements to fit the requirements of the Philippine Navy.
As Critical Design Review was conducted, HHI's designation on the OPV offered to the Philippine Navy was later changed to the HDP-2200+ OPV design, as confirmed by HHI during Euronaval 2022 defense exhibition in Paris, France in October 2022.[14] The dimensions of the ship remains the same as before, but the change in design name indicates that the displacement may have been reduced from 2,400 tons to 2,200 tons.[15]
The HDP-2200+ scale model shown at Euronaval 2022 shows that the patrol vessel will have a 76mm primary naval gun in A-position, and can potentially mix and match different weapon systems like medium caliber 30mm guns in remote controlled stations, close-in weapon stations, short range surface-to-air missile launchers, and anti-ship missiles.[16]
The ships would also have a hangar and helicopter landing deck, and a rear ramp for Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB), and spaces for Multi-Mission Containerized Modules to allow the ships to conduct other roles.
International accredited registrar DNV awarded Hyundai Heavy Industries an approval in principle (AiP)[17] for the new HDP-2400 Offshore Patrol Vessel design, certifying its compliance to regulatory requirements.[18]
Kongsberg Maritime has confirmed that they will be supplying Kamewa 86 A/5 D-B Controllable Pitch Propeller systems to HHI, which will installed on the new offshore patrol vessels being built for the Philippine Navy, with deliveries starting in August 2024.[19]
Hensoldt UK was awarded a contract to supply Mk11 SharpEye navigation radars for HHI's Philippine Navy ship projects. The radars will be fitted on both the 3,200-ton corvettes and the 2,400-ton offshore patrol vessels currently being developed and constructed by HHI for the Philippine Navy. These radars will provide navigation and surface search capabilities for the vessels.[20]
Anschütz Singapore announced that it had secured the contract to provide its Synapsis NX integrated navigation system for Hyundai Heavy Industry's Philippine Navy OPV project.[21]
In 2023 May 12, Hanwha Systems announced they won a contract to supply CMS and TDL (tactical data link) for the six Philippine Navy HDP-2400 OPVs. CMS deal totaled $29.5M or ~$5M per package. While TDL deal totaled $5M or ~$830K per package. This is Hanwha's 4th export contract to the Philippine Navy, bringing it from 7 to 13 CMS units.[22] [23]
In an interview with Naval News, Safran has confirmed that their PASEO XLR extra long range optronic identification & fire control system will be installed on the 2 HDC-3100 corvettes and 6 HDP-2200 offshore patrol vessels being built by HD Hyundai for the Philippine Navy.[24] [1]
| Name | Hull number | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBC | TBC | Hyundai Heavy Industries | TBC | TBC | TBC | Construction to start in 2023, postponed to 2024 |
| TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | Construction to start in 2024 | |
| TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | Construction to start in 2024 | |
| TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | Construction to start in 2025 | |
| TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | Construction to start in 2025 | |
| TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | Construction to start in 2026 |