Rajah Sulayman-class offshore patrol vessel

Last updated
BRP Rajah Sulayman (Launching Ceremony).jpg
BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) during the launching ceremony at Ulsan, South Korea
Class overview
NameRajah Sulayman-class
Builders Hyundai Heavy Industries
OperatorsFlag of the Philippine Navy.svg  Philippine Navy
Preceded by Jacinto-class patrol vessel
CostPH₱5.0B or $95.5M per ship (in 2021) [1] [a]
Built2024-2028
In commissionfrom 2025-2026
Planned6
Building6
General characteristics
Type Offshore Patrol Vessel
Displacement2,400 tonnes [2] /2,450 tonnes [3]
Length94.4 m (309 ft 9 in)
Beam14.3 m (46 ft 11 in)
Draft3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) @ 85% MCR
Range5,500  nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) @ 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Endurance30 days [3]
Boats & landing
craft carried
  • 2 x 7.2m RHIBs in port and starboard boat bays
  • 1 x 9.5m RHIB in stern slip
Complement72
Sensors &
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Radar-Electronic Support Measures (R-ESM)
  • EW Countermeasures
  • 2 × C-Guard DL-6T 6-tube 130mm IR and RF decoy launchers
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × 10 tonne naval helicopter
Aviation facilitiesFlight deck for a 10-tonne helicopter and/or unmanned aerial vehicle
Notes
  • Mission Bay
  • Stern mission bay for multi-mission module containers and towed array sonar

The Rajah Sulayman-class offshore patrol vessels are six ships designed and built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the Philippine Navy.

Contents

The Philippine Navy is expecting the delivery of six new offshore patrol vessels acquired under its Offshore Patrol Vessel Acquisition Project under the Revised AFP Modernization Program's Horizon 2 phase covering the years 2018 to 2022. [7] [9] The Philippines' Department of National Defense (DND) signed a contract with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries on 27 June 2022, [1] with the shipbuilder delivering a variant of their HDP-2200+ offshore patrol vessel design. [7]

History

In an interview at Euronaval 2022, an HHI representative stated that the estimated timeline for delivery for the vessel is from 2025 onwards.[ citation needed ]

In a 2023 September interview with DZBB to vice commander Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia, he estimated that the navy would receive the ordered 6 HDP-2200 OPVs starting from around 2026-2028 which was worth around PHP30 billion. [10]

Development

Concept design

The Philippine Navy included plans to procure six new next-generation offshore patrol vessels as part of its Horizon 2 modernization phase, with the proposal with a budget of PHP30billion (US$555 million) among those approved in-principle by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2018. [11]

During the pre-procurement development phase, the Technical Working Group (TWG) assigned to the project used the Philippine Navy's experience in specifying and building its latest warship, the Jose Rizal-class frigate, as there were numerous lessons learned from the project's development and construction from 2016 to 2020.

Based on open source information, [7] the new patrol vessels would be smaller, less equipped, less armed than frigates and corvettes, and designed more for low to medium-intensity conflicts and peacetime operations.

Required systems are believed to include the following: [7] [12]

Weapon systems required by the specifications are the following: [7] [12]

Selection

Several offers were made to the Philippine Navy to meet the requirements for new OPVs, including proposals coming from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries, [13] Turkey's ASFAT, [14] Israel Shipyards, Thailand's Bangkok Dock Company, [15] France's Naval Group, Dutch shipbuilder Damen Group, and India's Goa Shipyard. [7]

The Department of National Defense eventually decided for the project to be procured under negotiated process, and undertaken through Government-to-Government (G2G) process, which means a support and participation of the government of the shipbuilder's country of origin. [7]

By 2021, South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries and Turkey's ASFAT were shortlisted for the project. HHI offered their HDP-1500 Neo patrol vessel design. [16] On the other hand, ASFAT offered a revised version of their VARD-7 86-meter patrol vessel design. [17]

Ultimately, Hyundai Heavy Industries was selected as the winning contractor for the project, with a Notice of Award released by the DND around May or June 2022, and a contract signed on 27 June 2022. [1]

HHI HDP-2200+ design

During the contract signing with the Philippine Department of National Defense, Hyundai Heavy Industries indicated that their offer will be based on their 2,400-ton HDP-2200 corvette design. [1] [18] This was an enlarged and improved version of the HDP-1500 Neo OPV design which was believed to be the benchmark of HHI's offer to the Philippines [9] [12] and was first unveiled at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition (MADEX) 2022 in South Korea, [19] with an enlarged hull and other improvements to fit the requirements of the Philippine Navy.

As Critical Design Review was conducted, HHI's designation on the OPV offered to the Philippine Navy was later changed to the HDP-2200+ OPV design, as confirmed by HHI during Euronaval 2022 defense exhibition in Paris, France in October 2022. [20]

The HDP-2200+ scale model shown at Euronaval 2022 shows that the patrol vessel will have a 76mm primary naval gun in A-position, and can potentially mix and match different weapon systems like medium caliber 30mm guns in remote controlled stations, close-in weapon stations, short range surface-to-air missile launchers, and anti-ship missiles. [21]

The ships would also have a hangar and helicopter landing deck, and a rear ramp for Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB), and spaces for Multi-Mission Containerized Modules to allow the ships to conduct other roles.

International accredited registrar DNV awarded Hyundai Heavy Industries an approval in principle (AiP) [22] for the new HDP-2200 Offshore Patrol Vessel design, certifying its compliance to regulatory requirements. [23]

Confirmed Subsystems

Kongsberg Maritime has confirmed that they will be supplying Kamewa 86 A/5 D-B Controllable Pitch Propeller systems to HHI, which will installed on the new offshore patrol vessels being built for the Philippine Navy, with deliveries starting in August 2024. [24]

Hensoldt UK was awarded a contract to supply Mk11 SharpEye navigation radars for HHI's Philippine Navy ship projects. The radars will be fitted on both the 3,200-ton corvettes and the 2,400-ton offshore patrol vessels currently being developed and constructed by HHI for the Philippine Navy. These radars will provide navigation and surface search capabilities for the vessels. [5]

Anschütz Singapore announced that it had secured the contract to provide its Synapsis NX integrated navigation system for Hyundai Heavy Industry's Philippine Navy OPV project. [8]

In 2023 May 12, Hanwha Systems announced they won a contract to supply CMS and TDL (tactical data link) for the six Philippine Navy HDP-2400 OPVs.The CMS deal totaled $29.5M or ~$5M per package, while the TDL deal totaled $5M or ~$830K per package. This is Hanwha's 4th export contract to the Philippine Navy, bringing it from 7 to 13 CMS units. [25] [26]

In an interview with Naval News, Safran has confirmed that their PASEO XLR extra long range optronic identification & fire control system will be installed on the 2 HDC-3100 corvettes and 6 HDP-2200 offshore patrol vessels being built by HD Hyundai for the Philippine Navy. [6] [7]

Ships in class

NameProject NumberHull numberBuilderLaid downLaunchedCommissionedStatus
Rajah Sulayman [27] P172 [28] PS-20 [29] Hyundai Heavy Industries 5 Feb 2025 [28] 11 June 2025 [30] [31] March 2026 [32] Fitting out
Rajah Lakandula [33] TBCPS-21 [33] TBCTBCTBCUnder construction
Rajah Humabon TBCPS-22TBCTBCTBCUnder construction
Sultan Kudarat TBCPS-23TBCTBCTBCUnder construction
Datu Marikudo TBCPS-24TBCTBCTBCUnder construction
Datu Sikatuna TBCPS-25TBCTBC2028Under construction

Notes

  1. Cost per ship in 2022, with the June contract signing phase offered at the 2021 exchange rate. Roughly equivalent to ₱5 billion in 2021 PH pesos or $110.8 million in 2024 US dollars.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "HHI To Build Six New OPVs For The Philippine Navy". Naval News. 2022-06-27. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  2. "Patrol Vessel". Hyundai Heavy Industries. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  3. 1 2 "HDP-2200/HDP-2200+ brochure" (PDF). Hyundai Heavy Industries. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  4. Montero, Max (2025-08-28). "Air/Surface Search Radar of Rajah Sulayman-class". MaxDefense Philippines. Retrieved 2025-08-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. 1 2 "HENSOLDT UK awarded contracts for the Philippine Navy". Hensoldt. 17 March 2023. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Safran at MADEX 2023: Optronic, navigation and decoy launching systems for ROK Navy". Youtube. Naval News. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Offshore Patrol Vessel Acquisition Project of the Philippine Navy". Philippine Defense Resource. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  8. 1 2 "Anschuetz Singapore delivers integrated bridge systems for new OPVs". Naval News. 4 May 2023. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  9. 1 2 Mangosing, Frances (2022-05-23). "Navy to order 6 more patrol vessels from South Korea". Cebu Daily News. Archived from the original on 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  10. Nepomuceno, Priam (6 September 2023). "PH Navy to get 2 brand-new corvettes from 2025 to 2026". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  11. "Phase 2 of AFP Modernization Program gets PRRD nod".
  12. 1 2 3 "Understanding the Specifications of the HHI's Philippine Navy OPV". Pitz Defense Analysis. August 21, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  13. "Hyundai Heavy Industries' OPV Offer for the Philippine Navy". Pitz Defense Analysis. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  14. "Turkish ASFAT Set To Export OPV To The Philippines". Naval News. 29 April 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  15. "Thailand's Offshore Patrol Vessel Offer to the Philippine Navy". Pitz Defense Analysis. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  16. Mangosing, Frances (May 23, 2022). "Navy to order 6 more patrol vessels from South Korea". Inquirer.net. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  17. "Turkey in Final Stages for Offshore Patrol Vessel Export to Philippines". Turkish Defence News. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  18. Mendoza, John Eric (2022-06-28). "PH signs contract for six patrol vessels from South Korean firm". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  19. "MADEX 2021: HHI Unveils HDP-1500 Neo OPV". Naval News. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  20. Peruzzi, Luca (January 11, 2022). "Hyundai Heavy Industries presents the HDP-2200+ OPV design". European Defence Review Online. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  21. "HHI at Euronaval 2022: New OPVs and Corvettes for the Philippine Navy". Naval News. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  22. "Approval In Principle". Lloyd's Register. March 26, 2023. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  23. Hyun, Joo Lee (July 21, 2022). "DNV has awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for a new 2,200-ton offshore patrol vessel (OPV) design". DNV Website. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  24. "Kongsberg Maritime to supply propulsion systems for the Philippine Navy's new offshore patrol vessels". Kongsberg. 6 March 2023. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  25. "Hanwha Systems exports 'ship combat system' to 6 Philippine coastal patrol vessels (OPV)". Sokor: Hanwha Systems Press Release. 2023-05-12.
  26. Vavasseur, Xavier (2023-05-12). "Hanwha Systems To Supply CMS For Philippine Navy's New OPVs". Naval News.
  27. Recuenco, Aaron (12 June 2025). "Being Rajah Sulayman: AFP names new Navy vessel after pre-colonial warrior amid West PH Sea 'bullying'". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  28. 1 2 "[이것이 최고다]대한민국 K방산 수출! 아시아를 넘어 중남미로". Youtube. HD-HHI. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  29. Lariosa, Aaron-Matthew. "Philippine Navy Launches First Rajah Solayman-class Offshore Patrol Vessel". USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  30. Bahtić, Fatima. "Philippine Navy launches first-in-class OPV BRP Rajah Sulayman in South Korea". Naval Today. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  31. Xavier, Will. "Philippine Navy's newest offshore patrol vessel launched in South Korea". Baird Maritime. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  32. Cha, Eunhyuk. "HD HHI Launches Philippine Navy OPV 'BRP Rajah Sulayman'". Naval News. Naval News. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  33. 1 2 "Introduction of the New Rajah Sulayman-class OPV of the Philippine Navy". Pitz Defense Analysis. Retrieved 2025-07-13.