THE Philippine Navy will christen into service this Tuesday its Israeli-made warships as it continues to beef up its assets and capability under the ongoing modernization program of the military.
The Navy did not say how many Fast Attack Interdiction Craft- Missile (FAIC-M) or also known as Shaldag Mk V Fast Patrol Craft will be christened, but they could be the two units that Israel Shipyards Ltd. have already delivered.
The ceremony would be attended by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente O. Bacarro along with other officials from the military and Israel.
The commissioning comes five days after Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss made a courtesy call on Department of National Defense (DND) Officer in Charge Jose C. Faustino Jr.
More than a year ago, the Navy through the DND has signed with the Israeli contractor for the supply and delivery of eight units of FAIC-M worth around P10 billion.
As agreed upon, the contractor will build four of the eight fast patrol craft in Israel while the remaining four will be built and assembled in Sangley Point, Cavite.
The eight missile-armed warships will replace the gunboats of the Philippine Navy which have been discarded or will be decommissioned as they are already old.
On June 28 this year, the Israel Shipyards based in Haifa launched the first two of the FAICs, and it was witnessed by Philippine Navy officials.
Following the launching, the two fast patrol craft also test fired their weapon systems, the Typhoon 30mm automatic cannon and Mini-Typhoon machine gun system.
Aside from the FAICs, the Navy is also procuring two corvettes from South Korea.