The ''Jose Andrada'' class is a

ship class A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, is a nuclear aircraft carrier (ship type) of the (ship class). In the course ...

of twenty-two coastal patrol boats currently in service with the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

History

In 1989, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

placed an order of 4 fast patrol craft with Trinity-Equitable (formerly Halter-Marine Equitable) for

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

9.4 million. The first of the four vessels, arrived on August 20, 1990, was named . The lead ship of the class was named after Jose Andrada, who was one of the original officers of the

Offshore Patrol The Offshore Patrol (OSP) also known as the Mosquito Fleet was a small naval branch of the United States Army, intended for Littoral zone, inshore defense of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was active from February 9, 1939 to June 30, 19 ...

of the Philippine Commonwealth government. In April 1990, the Philippines ordered an additional ship and 3 more ships in August 1990. In March 1993, eleven more vessels were ordered. A total of 22 ships were acquired by the Philippines by 1999. It was initially designated as Fast Patrol Craft, and was classified with a hull initial "DF", but later on was re-designated as a Patrol Gunboat, and was finally re-designated as "PG".

Technical Details

The class was built to

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

standards with aluminium hull and superstructure. She is powered by two Detroit Diesel 16V-92TA Diesel Engines with a combined power of around 2,800 hp driving two propellers for a maximum speed of . Maximum range is at , or alternatively at . The ship class was originally designed to carry one bow Mk.3 40 mm gun, one 81 mm mortar aft, and four 12.7 mm/50 caliber machine guns. Instead, the class are armed with one 25mm Bushmaster chain gun on Mk.38 Mod.0 mount on second and later batches (PG-379 to PG-395), four M2HB Browning 12.7 mm/50 caliber machine guns on Mk.26 mounts, with two positioned forward and two aft; and two M60 7.62 mm/30 caliber machine guns, both mounted amidships. The ship can carry 4,000 rounds of 12.7 mm and 2,000 rounds of 7.62 mm A large "Big Eyes" binocular is also carried on tripod mounts, one on the forecastle and one just abaft the mast. The Mk.38 Mod.0 M242 Bushmaster 25mm chain gun was not installed on the first batch of boats (PG-370 to PG-378).''AFP Materiel Technical Specification Archives - PN Light Surface Warships'
Andrada (Halter 78) class Coastal Patrol Craft (24)
/ref> All are equipped with a

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...

AN/SPS-64(V)11 surface search and navigation radar but with a smaller antenna as those used in bigger Philippine Navy ships. Like all other Philippine Navy ships, the entire class was installed with the Philippine Navy Vessel Tracking System (VTS) by the Naval Sea Systems Command. A 4-meter rigid inflatable boat powered by a 40-hp outboard motor is stowed amidships.Wertheim, Eric: ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 15th Edition'', page 553. Naval Institute Press, 2007.

Ships in Class

Gallery

File:BRP Jose Loor 1.jpg, BRP ''Jose Loor'' (PG-390)

Footnotes

References

{{Philippine Navy ships Patrol vessels of the Philippine Navy Patrol boat classes