Frigate Full Complement Project - Additional Miguel Malvar-class FFG

After the outstanding success of the two Miguel Malvar-class frigates delivered under the Corvette Acquisition Project, the Philippine Navy now embarks on another acquisition program, which now calls for the purchase of two (2) additional frigates under the project entitled 'Frigate Acquisition Project - Full Complement'.

As the project becomes clear that its direction aims on basically a repeat order of a naval asset already in service within the Philippine Navy fleet, this discussion aims primarily to this acquisition program where different designs got presented as usual, until the contract signing and confirmation that gives an affirmative on what is ideally be the increase of number of ships belonging to the same class of vessels in service.

OVERVIEW - THE CONTRACT HAS JUST SIGNED

The BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG06), mooring at port during the commissioning ceremony.
Image (c) Philippine Navy

In the final days of the year 2025, specifically on the day of December 26, the Department of National Defense signed a contract with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the purchase of two (2) additional frigates under the Frigate Acquisition Project - Full Complement Program, which come as an ongoing defense partnership between the DND and the said South Korean shipbuilder, now totalling at least twelve (12) ships ordered under this arrangement.

The frigate mentioned in this deal involves the production and delivery of two (2) frigates based on the HDF-3200 design, from which the Miguel Malvar-class frigates currently serving in the Philippine Navy, derives from. 

With the mention of the design at hand, it gives a clear signal that the service branch now likely aims to streamline its fleet of ships, as this inventory-based item of a purchase will come likely as a repeat order of the Miguel Malvar-class frigate, with it having its own set of subcomponent upgrades.

The update regarding the Frigate Acquisition Project - Full Complement’s procurement phase reflects on the Procurement Monitoring Report released by the Department of National Defense for the second half of 2025, showing that the department’s bids and awards committee took only five (5) months from pre-bid conference into the contract signing and issuing the notice to proceed document, easing the materialization of documents for the production to start.

Adding to this is that choosing a proven design and the one already serving within the Philippine Navy will surely lessen the time required to undertake the needed Critical Design Review, in which will give shorter time between the notice to proceed issuance to the delivery of ships to the Philippine Navy fleet. 

The move will also increase the number of Miguel Malvar-class frigates to at least four (4) vessels, with more likely to come , depending on the discretion of the leadership.

In this writeup, it will only delve on the primary key details relating to the Frigate Acquisition Project - Full Complement, on the other designs considered before settling into getting the additional Miguel Malvar-class frigate, the subsystems that will probably find its way on the new ships that are currently absent on the warships currently serving in the fleet, and other relevant details that will give a full scope encompassing this key topic under the Philippine Navy’s capability upgrade efforts.

THE FRIGATE ACQUISITION PROJECT - FULL COMPLEMENT PROGRAM

The eyes initially looked at this HDF-3500 frigate design, until the Procurement Monitoring Report confirmed that it is an item-based approach, suggesting a repeat order of the Miguel Malvar-class.
File image from ADAS 2024.

This program presented itself as the second iteration of the Frigate Acquisition Project as part of the Philippine Navy’s ongoing modernization efforts, amounting to Php 34 billion in contract price for Lot 1, encompassing the delivery of at least a pair of guided missile frigates complete with armaments onboard (hence, the full complement description), while a separate lot is for the delivery of the ship’s onboard munitions, ranging from missiles to the ammunition of the 76mm main gun and the Close-In Weapons System.

Before the awarding of the contract to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the design preferences for this acquisition project of the Philippine Navy narrowed down to only two (2) designs, both of which were presented by the South Korean shipbuilder during the 2024 Asian Defense And Security (ADAS) Exhibition. 

The designs mentioned refer to both the HDF-3200 frigate design that became the Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigate, and the larger, 129-meter HDF-3500 frigate design.

As expected, the initial prospects went to the larger HDF-3500 design, of which it sports a larger hull, a bridge design similar to the Rajah Sulayman-class Offshore Patrol Vessels, a superstructure portion that linked the bridge to the exhaust funnel, and a similar design and subsystems principle found onboard the Miguel Malvar-class frigate with the 76mm Oto Melara Super Rapid Gun, 16-cell Vertical Launch System, a GOKDENIZ CIWS, 8-cannister C-Star anti-ship missiles, and two (2) triple-tubed torpedo launchers.

Since it is more of an item-based procurement, the awarding of the project to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will probably be a repeat order of the Miguel Malvar-class frigate, which means the design will stick to the all-familiar HDF-3200 frigate design. 

This means that there is a lesser need for a critical design review, and a delivery date before the year 2028 will be achievable, provided that the queue for the remaining Rajah Sulayman-class OPVs gets cleared for the frigate construction to start.

With the prospects for a four (4) unit Miguel Malvar-class frigate for the Philippine Navy, the next case for this discussion will probably dwell on the current fleet configuration of the Philippine fleet’s Offshore Combat Force or OCF, as it already has four (4) frigates already serving the fleet as of this time the article gets published, composing of two (2) Jose Rizal-class frigates, and the two (2) Miguel Malvar-class frigates that have joined the fleet recently.

THE FLEET COMPOSITION AND THE NAVY SAIL PLAN

Here is one of multiple iterations of the Philippine Navy's Sail Plan, of which this one calls for the fleet to get at least six (6) frigates.
Image from the Philippine Fleet.

In the original Philippine Navy desired force mix that was presented in the early 2010s when the Revised AFP Modernization Program was a newly enacted law, the fleet calls for at least six (6) frigates for its operational requirements, of which it originally aims for anti-air warfare capabilities. The same sail plan calls for at least twelve (12) corvettes that specialize more on anti-submarine warfare, creating a distinction of roles between the two types of vessels in the fleet.

From this point of view, this will mean that the frigate acquisition project - full complement will be the final one, as the Jose Rizal-class frigate and the first pair of Miguel Malvar-class frigate already in service, with the pair of Miguel Malvar-class repeat orders under the said acquisition project completing the minimum six (6) frigate requirements. 

That, of course, might still depend on the leadership’s discretion, as reclassifying the Jose Rizal-class to corvettes might mean another room for 2 more frigates to purchase.

In this hypothetical scenario, if the Jose Rizal-class frigates got reclassified as corvettes, then it gives the impetus for the purchase of two (2) additional frigates, likely another repeat order of the Miguel Malvar-class frigate, to satisfy the six (6) frigates that the desired force mix calls for. But this hypothetical scenario only applies if the desired force mix is still the one that the Philippine Navy follows,‌ which changes are already taking place since its first iteration in the early 2010s.

Ultimately, hypothetically securing at least six (6) Miguel Malvar-class frigates or another repeat order after the current procurement of two (2) frigates from this class will adhere to the rule of three (3) arrangement for ship deployment cycles, whereby one ship undertakes maintenance schedules and routine subcomponent upgrades, the second ship conducting actual naval operations underway, and the third ship on standby, ready for deployment at a moment’s notice, all ensuring the combat readiness of the naval force.

As the Miguel Malvar-class frigate might likely end up increased to four (4) ships operating by the Philippine Navy following the repeat order, a procurement for another batch of two (2) warships of this class won’t be that bad for the leadership planning to consider, as it gives optimization for the operation of the frigates for deployment, balancing its time on undertaking maintenance downtimes and on its actual at-sea operation requirements.

THE ‘FULL COMPLEMENT’ DESCRIPTION

Thales offered the CAPTAS-1 Variable Depth Sonar to the Philippine Navy.
(c) Thales, via Naval News.

One thing noticeable in this second batch iteration of the frigate acquisition project is its added description for ‘full complement’, which is an impression that this project will come with complete subsystems onboard, something that is absent on both the first frigate acquisition project that came the Jose Rizal-class guided missile frigate (FF), and the corvette acquisition project that eventually get reclassified into what is now the Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigates (FFG).

The first thing that comes into mind in discussing the ‘full complement’ part of purchasing two (2) additional guided missile frigates for the Philippine Navy to use is on the towed array sonar inclusion into the ship’s construction, of which it initially comes absent from the purchase of Miguel Malvar-class frigate of the Philippine Navy and counts as a separate purchase under the ‘fitted for, but not with’ or FFBNW scheme. This project now has this subcomponent as part of the package.

There are multiple towed array sonar solutions that the second batch of Miguel Malvar-class frigates might take, of which there are still no final details on the specific sonar solutions for consideration. One potential candidate for a sonar solution will be the Thales CAPTAS family of sonars, specifically the CAPTAS-2 sonar variant. The cheaper CAPTAS-1 sonar variant that Thales offered to the Philippine Navy during the Asian Defense and Security Exhibition (ADAS) 2024 will also count as a preferable candidate.

While there are no certain specific solutions for the frigate acquisition project - full complement’s towed array sonar system, its inclusion already gives a boost to the capabilities of these repeat order of the Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigates, so much that they may get the first two (2) ships of the class already in service in the Philippine Navy undertake its first repair/maintenance schedule to receive a similar system for commonality on capabilities.

Ultimately, the capabilities that will probably be found on the full complement version of the Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigate will probably find their way to the first two ships of the class, effectively making the batch 2 procurement of the additional guided missile frigate a primary basis on improving the capabilities of existing ones in the fleet. This effectively gives both commonality and expanded fleet size, which might serve as a reference for future repeat orders, especially if they are to be pursued. 

IN SUMMARY

BRP Miguel Malvar moored at port.
File Image.

The Frigate Acquisition Project - Full Complement Program of the Philippine Navy incorporates previously absent subsystems that counted as ‘Fitted For, But Not With’ into the new ships, which then will count as a fully packaged guided missile frigates with new subsystems that might get its way onboard will eventually trickle to the other active vessels on the fleet, expanding the capabilities on the broader ecosystem provided by the service branch’s Offshore Combat Force.

On the area of warship design, the decision of sticking to the HDF-3200 frigate variant that the Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigates are based on makes it ideal for the Philippine Navy’s delivery prospects, particularly in the sense that significant time for a critical design review gets reduced as they choose a design already approved previously for end-user requirements. This will hasten the time needed for the construction of the ships and eventually their introduction into the fleet.

Aside from faster construction and delivery date, the decision of having the Frigate Acquisition Project - Full Complement based on the HDF-3200/Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigate design also helps the Philippine Navy streamline its commonality and logistical chain in training, operating, maintaining, and sourcing spare parts for the upkeep of the vessels, as keeping similar design features helps identify the areas for troubleshooting and improvements better.

With the current numbers now increased to at least four (4) frigates of the type, it will not be surprising if the Philippine Navy pursues more of this proven ship design for its expanded fleet of surface combatants that form the Miguel Malvar-class guided missile frigate, as it gives the effectivity of it being the backbone of the fleet’s offshore combat force capabilities, especially as part of a naval force that augments the security of the country’s national territory as the current focus of the Philippine Armed Forces.

Ultimately, this might help the fleet improve and secure a formidable naval force that secures the country’s territorial and exclusive economic zone waters, befitting for an archipelagic country surrounded by multiple bodies of water that it serves as a vital lifeblood of the entire nation, from providing food security to its citizenry through the vast marine resources it contains through shipping lanes that drives economic growth and development. 

All of which gives importance to the role of a formidable navy in securing the country’s survival.

(c) 2026 PDA.

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