Northern Iraq airstrikess from CVN 77 - F/A-18 Super Hornets are recovered aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)

F/A-18 Super Hornets are recovered aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) while underway in the Arabian Gulf. Bush is operating in the Arabian Gulf on a scheduled deployment to U.S. 5th Fleet. The president has authorized U.S. Central Command to conduct military operations in support of humanitarian aid deliveries and targeted airstrikes in Iraq to protect U.S. personnel and interests, in response to activities conducted by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists. (RELEASED) ARABIAN Gulf (Aug. 8, 2014)

U.S. air assets taking part in the campaign include Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles, Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons and General Atomics MQ-1 Predators. The Navy is participating with Boeing F/A-18 Hornets flying off the deck of USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).

HMS Enterprise,- survey vessel, has evacuated another 93 individuals from Libya.

KAROL WOJTYLA supplying bunkers to HMS ENTERPRISE H 88 whilst berthed at the Grand Harbour, Malta -

The HMS Enterprise, the British Royal Navy survey vessel, has evacuated another 93 individuals from Libya.  The ship carrying mostly Brits, as well as Irish, Danes and Norwegians, arrived in Malta on August 6..

HMS Enterprise (H88)

Echo and Enterprise are the first Royal Navy ships to be fitted with azimuth thrusters. Both azimuth thrusters and the bow thruster can be controlled through the integrated navigation system by a joystick providing high manoeuvrability. Complete control and monitoring for power generation and propulsion, together with all auxiliary plant systems, tank gauging and damage control functions is provided through the integrated platform management system (IPMS), accessible through workstations around the ship.

[April 20 2011 Britain moves; RN RFA to Libya- marines, helos]









British Foreign Secretary William Hague said an experienced team of about a dozen British military advisers would help rebels work on organization, logistics and communications.

Hague said the advisers would not take part in any fighting, nor train or arm the opposition. He said the group would expand the work of British diplomats already in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
France is joining Britain in sending military advisers to Libya to help rebel forces.

A spokesman for the French government announced the move April 12 as French President Nicolas Sarkozy prepared to meet the head of Libya's rebels, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, in Paris.

Italy has now joined France and Britain is sending military advisers to assist rebel forces in Libya.

Maurizio Massari, a spokesman for the Italian Foreign Ministry, said Rome will dispatch military instructors to train the rebels in self-defense tactics.

THE THREE British navy ships carrying hundreds of Royal Marines to Cyprus for training are in no way linked to operations in Libya, said a British bases spokeswoman yesterday.

A report in The Times of London yesterday quoted the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) saying that a flotilla of British vessels and 600 Royal Marines would be deployed to Cyprus for amphibious exercises within the next two weeks.

The report triggered speculation that the UK was planning land operations in Libya, which was yesterday quashed by British bases spokeswoman, Connie Pierce, who said: “This is not linked to Libya at all.”

A taskforce of about 600 Royal Marines and at least six ships has left for the region, massively enhancing the UK's military strength there.

The Trafalgar- class submarine HMS Turbulence, and Type-22 frigate, HMS Cumberland – both Devonport-based – are already stationed in the Med off Libya.
Yesterday, The Sunday Times reported that Britain was sending a "taskforce" of marines and naval ships to Libya this week on a "humanitarian" mission.

The aim of the mission was to deliver emergency medical and food supplies to rebel-held towns, it said. The taskforce would include up to 600 marines from Taunton-based 40 Commando to protect ports where humanitarian supplies would be unloaded.

The newspaper said the ships, including the Devonport-based assault ship HMS Albion, were due to leave Plymouth either today or tomorrow, initially for Gibraltar. The marines will fly out to Gibraltar this week, it said.

Yesterday, Foreign Secretary William Hague denied the report, insisting they were actually "preparing for an exercise elsewhere".

Despite Mr Hague's denials, a taskforce of ships – including Albion – is due to sail for the Med shortly.

The assault ship is part of the Royal Navy's Responsive Force Task Group, which is deploying this month on Operation Cougar, the first phase of which will run in the Mediterranean until June. Also due to take part are HMS Ocean, RFA Cardigan Bay, RFA Mounts Bay, RFA Fort Rosalie, RFA Wave Knight and RFA Argus.

Five support teams from the new Maritime Aviation Support Force at RNAS Culdrose are also being deployed.

The long-planned operation will mean a significant British military resource will shortly be passing by the Libyan coast. Ocean's primary role is to carry marines supported by 12 medium support helicopters and six attack helicopters. As a landing platform, Albion is also able to embark and deploy troops and equipment by sea and air.

The use of commandos inside Libya, even as part of a humanitarian mission, would increase concerns over mission creep. The greatest need for humanitarian aid is in the rebel-held city of Misrata where fighting continues. Doctors in the city, 130 miles east of Tripoli, say at least 200 people have been killed there and 1,500 wounded. more read

Libyan-flagged Anwaar Libya,Nine million litres of petrol for Tripoli

mt Anwaar Libya

London, 7 August 2014:
Libyan-flagged Anwaar Libya, arrived in the capital at midday on August 6. It had left Misrata on Sunday. Nine million litres of petrol arrived in Tripoli by ship to address crippling fuel shortages that have paralysed the capital for a month.

Vessel's name: Anwaar Libya          Last updated: Jul 11, 2014
Ex-name(s): Maersk Rye                IMO number: 9275256
Flag: Libya                                     Call sign: 5AMV
Port of Registry: Tripoli                  Summer DWT: 34656 MT
Type of vessel: Oil Tanker              Built: May 20, 2004
Type of hull: Double Hull                Owner: Libyan Sea Carrier Ltd
Class Society: Lloyds Register       Operator: General National Maritime Transport Company


[March 23 Morning Glory arrives in Tripoli]

Morning Glory, North Korean flag

The Morning Glory is seen at the Tripoli port, March 23, 2014.

The oil tanker Morning Glory has docked back in the capital Tripoli. Libyan soldiers removed the crew on a small boat where they huddled in the open in the back on their way to Tripoli port. "They will be referred to the relevant judicial authorities," said Lieutenant Colonel Salim ash-Shwirf, standing on the tanker.

Morning Glory was being escorted by the USS Stout, a guided-missile destroyer, and 25 U.S. sailors were embarked aboard the tanker, overseeing the crew and detaining the three Libyan rebels who had taken control.

[March 20]

 The governments of Libya and Cyprus had requested American assistance in apprehending the tanker. President Obama authorized the operations just after 10 p.m.March 16 in Washington.

Within 10 minutes — before dawn March 17 over the Mediterranean — the SEALs launched their boats from the Roosevelt, a guided-missile destroyer, which also provided backup support from a shipboard helicopter.

Quickly fanning out across the Morning Glory, the SEALs captured and disarmed the three Libyans described by the tanker’s crew as hijackers. The mission was complete within two hours of boarding.

The official said the three Libyans would be in United States custody until the tanker returned to Libya, in about four days.
[March 15]The Cyprus authorities are questioning three individuals who allegedly approached the tanker which is suspected of transporting stolen quantities of oil from the rebel-held port of Sidra in Libya. 
The Attorney General of Cyprus and investigators are looking into the activities of the three, who hired a local boat from Larnaca and approached the ‘Morning Glory’ that is lying east off the coast of the island, with the intent of buying the estimated 32,000 tonnes of crude on board. 
The Cyprus Foreign Ministry said it received a request by the government of Libya on March 11 to assist in the return of the stolen amount of oil from the port of Sidra. 
The tanker did not request to moor in a Cypriot port and reports earlier on March 15 said it changed its course in a southeasterly direction in international waters.
[Earlier]A team of U.S. Navy SEALs boarded and took control of an oil tanker seized earlier this month by three armed Libyans, the Pentagon announced this morning.
The action, in international waters near Cyprus, was taken at the request of both the Libyan and Cypriot governments, the Pentagon said, adding that no one was hurt.   The SEAL team embarked and operated from the guided missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG-80). USS Roosevelt provided helicopter support and served as a command and control and support platform for the other members of the force assigned to conduct the mission.

[March 15]
234,000 barrels of crude @ $109.00 might be usd 25. 5 MILLION

North Korea's Shipping Registry disowned the tanker Morning Glory. It said its dealings with Alexandria, Egypt-based Golden East Logistics Company were null and void.   That company said it had just handled the now dishonored registry negotiations and did not own the company.

[March 12 ]




The bizarre tale of the North Korean-flagged oil tanker that has been trying to escape the clutches of Libya's fragile central government has prompted days ofconflicting news coverage, precipitated the fall of the country's prime minister, and underscored the continued threat posed by its patchwork of heavily armed militias. But the tangled saga also raises a more basic question: Why on earth would a North Korean-flagged ship risk being bombed "into scrap," as one official threatened, in order to load up on Libyan crude?


It's a question that has puzzled North Korea watchers, and prompted some to speculate about deteriorating commercial relations with China or even Pyongyang's desire to shore up its energy resources ahead of a possible rocket test. Others viewed the episode as a predictable outgrowth of North Korea's growing energy needs -- and lack of scruples when it comes to bargain hunting.


"It signifies how much risk North Korea is willing to take," said John Park, a North Korea specialist at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, who emphasized that nothing can be said for certain in the absence of more information about the tanker. "The risk is much higher than just paying a Chinese broker and then shipping oil a shorter distance."


China is North Korea's primary trading partner and the supplier of as much as 90 percent of its energy. But several recent provocations have strained the relationship, from Pyongyang conductingits third nuclear test in Feb. 2013 to its missiles fired in early March that came dangerously close to a China Southern passenger jet.


Little is known about the vessel at the heart of the current standoff, the Morning Glory, beyond that it was previously flagged in Liberia. Libya's National Oil Company hassaid that it belongs to Saudi Arabia, but few experts think the ship is flying the North Korean flag of convenience (if anything, flying the Hermit Kingdom's flag all but insures surveillance and inspection.) Saudi Arabia has issued a statement denying government ownership of the vessel, and some experts believe that it could belong to Pyongyang.


"It just implies that there is a strong DPRK interest in this," said Hazel Smith, a professor of Korean studies at the University of Central Lancashire in Britain. Smith also emphasized that she was speculating with very little information. "My guess is that the ownership [of the ship] has been transferred to the DPRK recently, so the record may not have caught up with it yet."


It is also possible that a North Korean trading company is leasing a Saudi Arabian ship. "Anything much bigger than 37,000 tons would be too expensive for DPRK," said Smith. "They don't have big tankers that can carry large amounts of oil, but they can lease them, of course."


Other experts have expressed doubt about direct North Korean involvement, suggesting that the Morning Glory's crew most likely planned to sell the stolen oil on the black market. The idea that Pyongyang would attempt to purchase crude owned by Waha Oil, a joint venture between Libya's National Oil Company and Hess, Marathon, and ConocoPhillips struck some as far-fetched because of its potential to antagonize Washington. 
Mar 11, 2014 19:01:08 GMT Morning Glory, which is carrying a cargo of  Sidra [ Es Sider] crude loaded by rebels who are in control of the port in eastern Libya.   A member of the Libyan General National Congress, the country's highest political authority,says the vessel had slipped its escort.  The oil tanker took advantage of poor weather conditions to head for the open sea. The ships that were surrounding it were not in a position to follow,   The Morning Glory docked at Sidra oil export terminal in the east of the country on March 8. Sidra is one three oil ports that have been under the control of federalists under the control of Inbrahim Jadhran.   The vessel allegedly loaded 230,000 barrels of oil.   Italians deny intercepting, they say.

Abu Khattala delivered by USS New York to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, accused by the U.S. as being the ringleader in the attack on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012, has been brought to federal court in Washington, D.C.

Due to her draft and the shallowness of the Potomac River, the New York most likely stayed out at sea or somewhere in the Chesapeake Bay before transporting Abu Khattala from her flight deck via helicopter or V-22 Osprey to Washington.


And since Abu Khattala has to be transported directly from the ship into the District, that leaves only one airfield that services military aircraft: Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

[June 18]
U.S. officials said Ahmed Abu Khattala was being held on the USS New York, a Navy amphibious transport dock ship in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems
Operators:	United States Navy
Preceded by:	Austin-class amphibious transport dock Newport-class tank landing ship Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship
Succeeded by:	N/A—current authorized amphibious transport dock line
Cost:	$1,602.5 million (ave. for class, FY2012)[1] $2,021.4 million (last ship, FY2012)[1]
Built:	2000–2017 (forecast)[1]
In commission:	2006–present
Building:	2
Planned:	12
Completed:	9
Cancelled:	1
Active:	9
General characteristics [2]
Type:	Amphibious transport dock
Displacement:	25,300 t (full)
Length:	684 ft (208 m)
Beam:	105 ft (32 m)
Draft:	23 ft (7.0 m), full load
Propulsion:	Four sequentially turbocharged marine Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, two shafts, 41,600 shp
Speed:	In excess of 22 knots (41 km/h)
Boats & landing craft carried:	Two LCACs (air cushion); or 1× LCU (conventional) 14× Amphibious Assault Vehicles
Complement:	Crew: 28 officers, and 333 enlisted men Landing force: 66 officers, and 633 enlisted men
Sensors and processing systems:	AN/SPS-48G, AN/SPQ-9B[1]
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32[1]
Armament:	2× Bushmaster II 30 mm close-in-guns two Rolling Airframe Missilelaunchers two Mk 41 eight-cell VLS for quad-packed ESSMs (if required) Several twin M2 Browning machine gun turrets
Aircraft carried:	Launch or land up to four CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, or up to two MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft simultaneously with room to place four MV-22s on the flight deck and one in the hangar deck

Abu Khatallah is now on a slow boat to the United States -- a U.S. Navy ship in the Mediterranean, where he is facing interrogators.

They're taking him by sea, rather than by air, in order to give investigators "maximum time to question him," U.S. officials said.
Such interviews typically are done by the FBI-led High Value Detainee Interrogation Group, or HIG, that includes agents from multiple law and intelligence agencies.

U.S. Navy Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Cory Esworthy, bottom left, a search and rescue swimmer, assists with transporting persons in distress from a rigid-hull inflatable boat to armed forces of Malta offshore patrol vessel P61 June 7, 2014, in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Bataan and the guided missile frigate USS Elrod (FFG 55) rendered assistance and provided food, water, medical attention and temporary shelter to 282 people after receiving a report that an Italian military marine patrol aircraft sighted six small vessels, one of which was sinking.

[June 2]

Sailors rush after removing chock and chains from an AH-1W Super Cobra before it takes off from the flight deck aboard the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). Bataan, with elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, is operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to augment U.S. Crisis Response forces in the region.
[May 29]

1,000 Marines moving toward Libya on USS Bataan

The U.S. military has ordered the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, with 1,000 Marines on board, to move toward the Libyan coast, the Pentagon confirmed May 28, a day after American officials urged citizens to leave the restive country immediately.   The Bataan, wasn’t expected to be positioned off the Libyan coast. It more likely would remain in the region, and could move or respond quickly if called; it  had been taking part in military exercises in the Red Sea when it got notice to move into the Mediterranean Sea. The Marines based out of Moron are part of a crisis response unit focused on embassy security that was created after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. 

U.S. military officials did not say where the USS Bataan was located in the Mediterranean, but one dismissed reports that it was near the Libyan coast, saying it had only passed through the Suez Canal on May 27.




[March 23 2011]


The USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group is deploying to the Mediterranean Sea to aid international efforts in Libya.

The group leaves southeast Virginia onMarch 23. It will be relieving units from the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group.

The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group is made up of the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, amphibious transport dock ship USS Mesa Verde and the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island.
The ships will transport Marines, a combat helicopter squadron and a team of surgeons. USS Bataan (LHD-5) is a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship commissioned in 1997

Albedo: boxship hijacked - last sailors ransomed 2014

Sailors on a ship hijacked by Somali pirates nearly four years ago were finally released on June 7.   The exact circumstances of the release of the final Albedo crewmen is unclear. However, it is thought that the pirates may have been persuaded to accept a much lower ransom than originally expected.
The ship was among the cases receiving assistance from Colonel John Steed, a former British military attache to Kenya and United Nation's counter-piracy expert, who now runs the Secretariat for Regional Maritime Security, an organisation which specialises in dealing with Somalia's "forgotten" piracy cases.
last summer, the vessel sank in a storm, resulting in five of the crew drowning along with five of the pirates as they abandoned ship.
The 11 seamen released were then transferred to a ramshackle house near the Somali port of Hobyo, a notorious pirate haven, where they have been held ever since. They were expected to be flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Guushaye, the pirate leader, and his gang initially demanded a ransom of $8-10M, but this was reduced to $2.85M for the ship and its crew. The shipowner appointed Ahmed Chinoy, chairman of Pakistan's Citizens Police Liaison Committee, to mediate between the pirates and the seafarers' families. After a campaign in Pakistan, Chinoy raised $1.1M, resulting in the release of Captain Jawaid Saleem and six other Pakistani crew members on 1 August 2012.   The pirate commanders "effectively ran off with the ransom money", sparking a dispute with the gang's investors, Hassan Hamarrow and Ahmed Sayruuq. 





[11 November 2010]
MV ALBEDO was hijacked by pirates approximately 900 nautical miles East of Mogadishu (Somalia) November 26.

The MV ALBEDO is Malaysian flagged and owned, The vessel was carrying containers and was bound for Mombasa from Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). MALAYSIAN-based shipping line Majestic Enrich has started its first service of a Malaysia-Singapore feeder connecting Penang, Port Kelang (Northport and Westport) and Singapore.
The service will deploy one of its two 1,066-TEU renamed Albedo from Cape Ann, with CAPE Arago as yet unassigned.
The Majestic Enrich Company was incorporated on January 25, 2008 as a private limited company under the name of Majestic Enrich Sdn Bhd in Malaysia by Iranian shipping executives and on April 3 changed its name to Majestic Enrich Shipping Sdn Bhd.
The carrier will provide services between Malaysia, Singapore and India.


MV ALBEDO
IMO 9041162 Flag Malaysia Fully Cellular
DWT 15,562 on 8.98m
Built 93 MTW, GERMANY
Class GL - SS 03-2013 DD 11-2010
L.O.A. 157.69m - Beam 22.80m - L.B.P. 147.20m - Depth 11.80m
4 Holds - 7 Hatches, G.T. 10,859 - N.T. 6,200
MaK 6M601C 8,972 BHP 425 RPM Abt 17.5K On 38 (180Cst) + 2.5Mt Mgo If
Shaftgen Disconnected
TEU Capacity: 1,066, Homog: 755 @ 14T, Reefer Plugs: 100.
GEARLESS (GEARLESS) - CELLULAR
L.D.T. 5,130

USS G.H.W.Bush: moves Strike Fighters to Northern Gulf as ISIS moves on Baghdad

United States plans to move the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush into the Persian Gulf to provide Obama with options for possible airstrikes. Two destroyers from the ship's strike group, the Norfolk-based Truxtun and the Mayport, Fla.-based Roosevelt, are already in the area. The ships carry Tomahawk missiles, which could reach Iraq, and the Bush, stationed nearby in the North Arabian Sea, is carrying fighter jets that could also easily get to Iraq.


140602-N-CS564-065 ARABIAN SEA (June 02, 2014) Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 2nd Class Mario Orellana, from New York, assigned to the "Fighting Black Lions" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213, inspects a torso harness aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). George H.W. Bush is supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.


 [November 16 2011]





An alleged plot by Iraqi intelligence to assassinate Bush's father, former president George H.W. Bush, during his triumphal visit to Kuwait in April, 1993, at the direction of Saddam Hussein might have induced G.W. Bush to get Hussein, and we did. Has Saddam struck back at CV-77, George H. W, Bush? There have been at least two times when all 423 commodes in the ship’s 130 heads went offline. The sailors blame the ship’s vacuum system. But the Navy is blaming sailors for flushing “inappropriate material” down the toilets. A new vacuum collection sewage system that utilizes fresh water instead of sea water for flushing. This creates fewer long term corrosion problems, and reduces the quantity of sewage from water closets and urinals by ratio of 10 to 1.

Amid Chinese oil rig row, Cinese sinks Vietnam boat

[May 19]

PLAN Type 052B DDG next to Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil drilling rig in South China Sea pic.twitter.com/qynyNdZIH5

— Alert 5 (@alert5) May 14, 2014

Displacement: 5,850 tons standard[1]
6,500 tons full load
Length: 155 m
Beam: 17 m
Draught: 6 m
Propulsion: CODOG 57,000 shp
Speed: 30 knots
Complement: 280
Armament: 16 YJ-83 anti-ship missiles
48 SA-N-12 Grizzly surface-to-air missiles
1× Type 210 100 mm dual purpose gun
2 Type 730 CIWS
2 anti-submarine mortars
6 torpedo tubes
Aircraft carried: 1 helicopter: Kamov Ka-27
Aviation facilities: Single helicopter hangar

[May 10]

Heavy lift Rolldock Star with the HQ-183 Ho Chi Minh City City submarine on board entered Cam Ranh Bay on March 19, 2014.

Submarine. Kilo Class shipped to China

 The submarine has a load of 2,300 tons and can carry a crew of 57. It can operate at a maximum depth of 300 meters at a range of 6,000-7,500 nautical miles for 45 days and nights. The vessel is armed with a Klub-S cruise missile system with 3M-54E1 missiles bearing 450-kg warheads that have a firing range of 220 km. It also has a system of eight Strela-3 anti-aircraft missiles with a firing range of 6 km, six torpedo tubes, and other advanced military equipment.

 China itself has adopted a strategy of building up a submarine force to counter a superior surface opponent (the US Navy). It’s entirely logical for Vietnam to adopt a similar approach vis-a-vis China, especially given that China’s lifeline of raw materials and exported goods from and to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia passes right by Vietnam’s doorstep. Aside from Thyssen Krupp Marine’s U209 family of submarines, the Russian Kilo Class are the world’s most widely exported subs. They’re known for a level of quietness that’s significantly better than other Russian designs, and have been produced in the Project 877EKM, and the Project 636M “Improved Kilo” / Varshavyanka Class variant that Vietnam is receiving. Countries operating or ordering these submarines include Russia, Algeria, China, India, Iran, Poland, and Romania. Vietnam appears to have opted for a longer-range, higher capacity 3,000t submarine. 

 [April 27]

Promenaders watch the docked amphibious assault ship USS Essex embark from Subic Bay in October 2006

Local leaders and business people in Subic Bay confirm that both Philippine and American defense officials have been there recently to examine the options.

Under the terms of the new defense pact due to be signed April28, the U.S. is only allowed “rotational” access to existing Philippine facilities and cannot run its own bases. That means the Philippines will have to set up new facilities at Subic before the Americans can come in.

BRP Ramon Alcaraz

The frigate, BRP Ramon Alcaraz, sailed into the Philippines' Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base.
BRP del Pilar was the country’s first Hamilton-class weather high endurance cutter (WHEC) acquired from the United States, in 2011. It will be used to patrol areas of the South China Sea near the Philippine coast that have become a major source of tension with Beijing.   The Philippines received the latest cutter for free under Washington's foreign military financing program, but spent about $15 million to upgrade its weapons and radar systems.   Hamilton-class ships have the basic modern technology the Philippine Navy needs to train its personnel, and has the size to install current and future weapons and sensors to keep it up-to-date for another decade.
Despite the removal by the US of its original radar systems, the PF-15 has new navigation and surface search radar and a new C&C/Common Operational Picture system. It also has a helicopter hangar and helideck for shipborne helicopter operations, and provisions for new radar and communications systems if the PN decides to install, provisions are also available to upgrade and up-arm the Hamilton-class ships.

The armed forces plan to buy radars, surveillance planes, fighters, and helicopters under the $1.7-billion plan.

Manila has opened talks to acquire a dozen new fighter jets and two frigates from South Korea. It has also ordered 10 coast guard ships from Japan and three more vessels from France.

He said the Hamilton-class ship will be deployed to Palawan and then to the Spratly Islands.

“It is to protect our interest in the natural resources operations that we have, more (specifically) in Malampaya…It is near Spratlys but basically, the objective is to protect our Malampaya (natural gas project)," he said.   the Navy would need to acquire “as many large-hull warships it can possibly get with its limited budget,” to show its presence and patrol the vast areas within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).