Philippines To Buy 8 Fast Patrol Boats From Israel To Strengthen Maritime Patrol Missions

The Philippine Navy (PN) eyes to acquire eight Israeli Shipyard Ltd Shaldag-class patrol boats to replace the “PKMs” it is using for maritime interdiction operations.

PKM is short for “patrol killer medium” a term used to describe medium-sized naval craft tasked for patrol missions that were acquired from South Korea in 1995.

In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, January 22, PN flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad said this procurement project, which is worth PHP10 billion, was already approved by President Rodrigo R. Duterte during a recent command conference.


“These eight ‘Shaldags’ will replace our PKMs which we are now starting to retire. The last PKM we retired was PKM 112 (BRP Bienvenido Salting),” Sir Empedrad said.

He added that four of the “Shaldag” patrol boats will be built in Israel while the remaining four will be constructed in the PN Cavite Naval Yard in Sangley Point, Cavite City.

The Shaldag-class patrol boat is a small but fast class of patrol boats developed for the Israeli Navy and launched in 1989, it has since seen service with several other navies — designed for security tasks where high intercept speeds are required, such as interdiction of terrorism and illegal smuggling.

The PN chief said they are waiting for the Department of Budget and Management to release the so-called “Multi-Year Obligational Authority” so that they can sign the contract for the ships.

“Once this is signed immediately, we send our personnel to the shipyard to Israel,” Sir Empedrad added.

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The “Shaldag” is under the PN’s Fast Attack Interdictor Craft-Missile (FAIC-M) project and under this program, four of the ships will be armed with non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missiles with pinpoint accuracy and a range of 25 kilometers.

With the FAIC-M, the PN shall have the capability to defend the key sea lines of communications, such as Mindoro, Balabac, Sibutu and Basilan Straits against conventional threats.

“Operating in restricted waters, the FAIC-Ms can interdict surface threats and launch NLOS missiles safely using the surrounding littoral areas as maneuver space and cover,” then PN spokesperson, Captain Jonathan Zata said of the project.

Source: PNA