BRP Antonio Luna joins RIMPAC

The country’s missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) participated in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) war-at-sea exercises (WASEX) 2022.

Philippine Navy spokesperson, Commander Benjo Negranza, on Thursday said the exercise will improve the Filipino warship’s proficiency and communication capability, especially in the conduct of joint interoperability.

“This exercise further developed the PH Navy frigate’s capability to defend against maritime threats while working with partner navies, improving interoperability and experience in large-scale formations such as the Carrier Strike Group operations,” he said.

The carrier strike group is a naval formation consisting of an aircraft carrier, its escorting warships and replenishment vessels.

RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise with participating countries including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States.

It is held biennially to promote regional stability as well as to foster and sustain the cooperative ties of participating nations in the Pacific region.

The first RIMPAC was conducted in 1971 with about 25,000 personnel from 26 participating countries.

This year’s RIMPAC began on June 29 and runs until 4 August.

Negranza said the BRP Antonio Luna searched for and engaged hostile surface warships during the exercise.