Decommissioned PN Corvette to be Sunk in 'Balikatan' Drill

14 April 2023

BRP Pangasinan (PS-31) corvette (photo : Anthony M)

MANILA – A decommissioned Philippine Navy (PN) ship, the World War II-era corvette BRP Pangasinan (PS-31), will be sunk in this year's "Balikatan" joint live-fire exercises, which will be conducted off Zambales on April 26.

"They have to fire at a target that is close to what we would expect in actual threat, which is an intrusion coming from an adversary by (the) sea. How will they do that? They will do it through a Navy ship. So we will provide the target and the target to sink is PS-31. It's a very old (PN) ship," Col. Michael Logico, Executive Agent of "Balikatan" 2023 Philippines, said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the annual Philippines-US military exercise held in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Tuesday.

The BRP Pangasinan is a former US Navy patrol craft escort built in 1943 and turned over to the country in 1948. It was decommissioned in March 2021.

The sinking exercise (sinkex) will be conducted 12 nautical miles from San Antonio, Zambales, and well within Philippine territorial waters.

Logico also said every "weapon system" in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States, present in this year's exercise, would be used.

Weapon systems and platforms that might be used by the Philippine military include the A-29 "Super Tucano" attack aircraft, various artillery units, and even the FA-50 jet fighters.

PAF A-29 Super Tucano and FA-50 Golden Eagle (photo : ruffybiazon)

"Every weapon system of the AFP and the United States will be (used) their HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System). (I'm hoping) that it does not sink until we utilize all our weapon systems," he added.

Logico also said the "sinkex" is to prove that all services of the AFP are interoperable.

"It demonstrates that we are competent in employing combined arms and joint capabilities, we are demonstrating that we are combat ready, we have that capacity to deliver fires on a target, from the land, from the air, and from the sea. That's what we are demonstrating," he added.

Logico also added that any exercise the AFP does is a "demonstration of combat readiness."

"To us, it is a demonstration of confidence that we can actually perform and execute our mandate, if you are the adversary, it is a deterrence but we just perform this exercise for the value of the training it provides, which is an opportunity for us to operate and to exercise together with our friends and allies," he said.

In a related development, Logico said he has briefed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on the activity.

"Yes, I briefed the President myself. He said yes, he'll be coming," Logico said.

The military official said Marcos was "excited" about the "sinkex."

(PNA)