Philippine Navy welcomes new guided missile frigate BRP Diego Silang

The Philippine Navy has officially welcomed its newest and most advanced guided missile frigate, the BRP Diego Silang (FFG-07), during a ceremony at the Naval Operating Base in Subic, Zambales.

AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. described the warship as a "strategic asset and a powerful symbol" of the nation's growing maritime strength and resolve to defend its interests.

The BRP Diego Silang is the second Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigate, with its sister ship, the BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-06), commissioned in May.

Built by South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the 3,200-ton frigate is 118.4 meters long.

It is equipped with advanced weaponry including eight anti-ship missiles, a 16-cell vertical launching system, multiple torpedo launchers, a 76mm naval gun, and an active electronically scanned array radar system.

The two frigates were acquired under a ₱28-billion contract signed in 2021 between the Department of National Defense and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries as part of the Navy's modernization efforts amidst rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region.