BRP Ladislao Diwa (PS-178) is an Alvarez-class patrol ship of the Philippine Navy. She is the Philippine Navy's third ship of the class and was previously a Cyclone-class patrol ship named USS Chinook (PC-9) during her service with the US Navy.

BRP Ladislao Diwa (PS-178) during its commissioning with the Philippine Navy.
History
United States of America
NameUSS Chinook
BuilderBollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana[1]
Laid down16 June 1993
Launched26 February 1994
Acquired7 October 1994
Commissioned28 January 1995
Recommissioned22 August 2008
Decommissioned28 March 2023[2]
IdentificationPC-9
Motto"Stealth Courage Swiftness"
FateTransferred to Philippine Navy[2]
Badge
Philippines
NameBRP Ladislao Diwa
NamesakeLadislao Diwa, Filipino revolutionary and co-founder of Katipunan
Acquired28 March 2023
Commissioned11 September 2023[3]
IdentificationPS-178
StatusIn service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeAlvarez-class patrol ship
Displacement331 tons
Length174 ft (53 m)
Beam25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft7.5 ft (2.3 m)
Installed power2 × MTU 6V396 TC52 diesel generators
Propulsion4 × Paxman Valenta 16RP200CM diesel engines producing combined total of 13,400 shp (9,990 kW) sustained [1]
Speed35 knots (65 km/h) maximum
Range2,900 mi (2,500 nmi; 4,700 km)at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance10 days
Boats & landing
craft carried
1 × 7-meter RHIB
Crew4 officers, 24 men, 8 Special Forces
Sensors and
processing systems
  • AN/SPS-64(V)9 I-band Surface Search Radar
  • Sperry Vision RASCAR 2100M Combat System
  • Sperry Vision RASCAR 3400C X-band Navigation/Surface Search Radar
  • Sperry Vision RASCAR 3400C S-band Navigation/Surface Search Radar
  • Wesmar side-scanning hull-mounted Sonar
  • FLIR Systems AN/KAX-1 MarFLIR
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Privateer AN/APR-39(V)1 ESM radar warning
  • 2 × Mk.52 Mod.0 sextuple Chaff Launchers
Armament
  • 2 × Mk.38 Mod. 2Bushmaster 25 mm chain guns
  • 3 × M2HG Browning 12.7 mm 50 caliber machine guns
  • 2 × M240 7.62 mm machine gun[4]

History

edit

United States Navy

edit

Launched as the ninth of fourteen ships of the Cyclone-class patrol ship, the primary mission of USS Chinook (PC-9) was to serve as a platform for conducting maritime special operations, including interdiction, escort, noncombatant evacuation, reconnaissance, operational deception, intelligence collection, and tactical swimmer operations. Her small size, stealthy construction and high speed were tailored to performing long-range Special Operations Forces (SOF) insertion and extraction as well as other SOF support duties as needed.

 
USS Chinook (PC-9)

On 10 January 2023, Chinook, along with sister patrol ship USS Monsoon (PC-4) and guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), stopped and boarded a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman that was smuggling over 2000 AK-47 assault rifles.[5]

Chinook together with sistership Monsoon were decommissioned from the US Navy on 28 March 2023,[6] and were transferred to the Philippine Navy on the same day.[2][7]

Philippine Navy

edit
 
The BRP Valentin Diaz (PS-177) and BRP Ladislao Diwa (PS-178) during their commissioning with the Philippine Navy.

She was rechristened as BRP Ladislao Diwa (PS-178) on 11 September 2023, in honor of a Filipino revolutionary in its war of independence from Spanish colonial rule.[8][9] She is currently assigned to the Littoral Combat Force of the Philippine Fleet.[3]

The ship is the first ever Philippine Navy ship to use the name.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Saunders, Stephen: Jane's Fighting Ships 2009-2010. IHS Jane's, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c NAVCENT Public Affairs (28 March 2023). "U.S. Navy Decommissions Last Patrol Craft Stationed in Bahrain". DVIDS. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b Sadongdong, Martin (5 September 2023). "PH Navy to commission 2 patrol vessels from US". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  4. ^ MaxDefense Philippines - Commissioning of BRP Valentin Diaz and BRP Ladislao Diwa
  5. ^ Epstein, Jake (10 January 2023). "US Navy Ships Caught a Fishing Boat Smuggling Over 2,000 AK-47 Rifles from Iran". Military.com. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  6. ^ NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Coastal Photo Archive. "USS Monsoon (PC-4), ex-USCGC Monsoon (WPC 4)". NavSource.org. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  7. ^ "2 ex-US Cyclone patrol boats to join BRP Mariano Alvarez in Navy fleet". Philstar Global. 30 March 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  8. ^ Punongbayan, Michael (6 September 2023). "US patrol ships to join Philippine Navy fleet". Philstar Global. Archived from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  9. ^ Rita, Joviland (11 September 2023). "Philippine Navy commissions 2 patrol vessels". GMA News. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.