Six Refurbished Navy Ships Undergo Sea Trials

02 April 2012

BRP General Mariano Alvarez -PS38 Jacinto class corvettes (photo : Philippines Navy)

SIX Navy ships that went through systems repair in a naval facility in Cavite test fired their guns over the weekend in Bataan to evaluate their readiness for deployment.

The test firing activity, which involved the shooting of an improvised floating target, was conducted 15 nautical miles off Luzon Point in Mariveles, Bataan.

It was conducted by the BRP Iloilo (PS32); BRP Tagbanua (AT296); BRP General Mariano Alvarez (PS38); RP Liberato Picar (PG377); BRP Hilario Ruiz (PG378) and BRP Filipino Flojo (PG386).
They used anti-aircraft guns, 25mm naval guns and several types of machine guns.

BRP Tagbanua AT296 landing craft utility (photo : matrix-pdff)

Cmdr. Hilarion Cesista, training and evaluations officer of the Fleet Operations Readiness Training Evaluations Group (Forteg) of the Philippine Fleet, said the live firing activity was held to evaluate the range, precision and operational reliance of the vessels.

He said the test firing will determine whether the vessels are ready for full deployment.

During the test, all of the six vessels yielded 98-percent readiness.

Cesista said necessary measures will be taken to attain 100-percent readiness before the vessels will be deployed.

BRP Hilario Ruiz-PG378, Jose Andrada class patrol craft (photo : rizal -timawa)

“Beyond test firing their weapons, the evaluation team ensured that all their logistical and operational supplies and equipment are available onboard and functional,” he said.

Rear Adm. Jose Luis Alano, Philippine Fleet commander, said it is their policy to certify that all the vessels undergoing repairs should be subjected to strict readiness evaluation procedures to ensure that they are reliable and equipped before they are deployed to perform their missions.

He said the strict evaluation procedures are meant to ensure the capability and operational readiness of vessels in order to respond to the demands of their multifaceted roles.

(Business Mirror)