‘Most decorated’ PH ship to serve as strike target
The Navy’s most decorated warship, the decommissioned BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19), will embark on its final mission for the Philippines on Monday when it joins this year’s “Balikatan” exercise as the target of a joint strike drill with the United States.
The Philippines acquired the vessel in 1976, refitted it and christened it as the RPS Miguel Malvar until she was renamed the BRP Miguel Malvar in 1980, when the Navy started major modifications and reclassified it as a corvette.
The vessel was finally decommissioned in 2021 along with other vessels from the Vietnam War, but the name BRP Miguel Malvar will continue to live on in the first of two Malvar-class corvettes from South Korea.
The newly delivered BRP Miguel Malvar is expected to be commissioned later this month.
On Monday, the original Miguel Malvar will serve as the target in a “joint maritime strike” as part of this year’s “Balikatan” exercise.
US Marine Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, commander of the First Marine Expeditionary Force, said the drill will validate operational procedures, plans and coordination.
“We will conduct a maritime strike against a decommissioned target ship to rehearse our fully integrated targeting across manned and unmanned surface vessels, aerial drones, fixed-wing aircraft, and precision fires showcasing the future of maritime defense,” Cederholm told reporters on Wednesday night.
The annual Balikatan or “shoulder-to-shoulder” drills, which run until May 9, involve more than 17,000 Filipino and American troops.
