BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150)

BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) is the lead ship of her class of guided missile frigates of the Philippine Navy. She is the first purpose-built frigate of the service, as its previous major warships were mostly obtained from retired patrol ships of other countries. She is also one of the navy's primary warships able to conduct multi-role operations, such as coastal patrol, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare.

Construction and design


The BRP Jose Rizal was designed and built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of South Korea, and is based on the shipbuilder's HDF-2600 design, which in turn was derived from the Incheon-class frigate of the Republic of Korea Navy. Changes were made on the base design by making use of design developments and features found on newer frigates of the R.O.K. Navy, considering reduced radar cross-section by having cleaner lines, smooth surface design, reduced overhangs and a low free-board.

On May 1, 2018, the steel cutting ceremony was held for P159 (project number of first of two frigates) at HHI's shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, marking the first step of the vessel's construction journey.

On October 16, 2018, HHI held the keel laying ceremony for P159, marking the formal start of the construction of the ship.

On December 20, 2018, Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana announced the names of the two future frigates being built by HHI: BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna.

On May 23, 2019, HHI launched the first vessel, the prospective BRP Jose Rizal. In a press briefing the same day, a Hanwha official said that Link 16 would likely not be compatible for the frigates until 2020 because of issues between US and South Korea.

From November 2019 to February 2020, HHI held six sea trials that tested:
 * the vessel's general seaworthiness and propulsion and associated systems, including its radars,
 * the communications and navigational equipment,
 * firing of its Super Rapid 76mm main gun,
 * weapons and sensors, vessel performance, and integrated platform management system.

The entire team of the Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee witnessed the sea acceptance tests for the ship in South Korea, and reported that it had “generally satisfactory” results.

On May 23, 2020, the ship arrived in Subic Bay, Zambales after a five-day journey from Ulsan, South Korea. The commissioning was delayed after one of the ship's 65-crew tested positive for COVID-19 amidst the pandemic. On July 10, 2020, the ship was eventually commissioned into service, making the name BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) official.

Service history
The BRP Jose Rizal participated in RIMPAC 2020.

In December 2021, she was dispatched to Palawan to provide humanitarian assistance to communities affected by Typhoon Odette.

On 16 October 2022, Jose Rizal became the first Philippine Navy ship to conduct a Replenishment at Sea when she received 30,000 liters of fuel from HMAS Stalwart of the Royal Australian Navy.

On 27 April 2023, Jose Rizal participated in the sinking of BRP Pangasinan as part of the Balikatan 2023 exercise. The ship fired its naval guns at BRP Pangasinan.

On 15 June 2023, Jose Rizal arrived in Ulsan, South Korea for her first dry docking and refit period. The refit of both ships of the class was completed as of September 2023.

On 4 September 2023, Jose Rizal conducted a bilateral sail with the USS Ralph Johnson in the South China Sea.

On 8 May 2024, Jose Rizal fired an SSM-700K C-Star anti-ship missile at the decommissioned BRP Lake Caliraya as part of the Balikatan 2024 exercise. Also participating in the exercise was the BRP Lawrence Narag firing a Spike NLOS missile, aircraft from the Philippine Air Force and United States Air Force, and ATMOS 2000 artillery from the Philippine Army. The Lake Caliraya sunk at 10:49AM, over two hours after the exercise began.