Posts rescued from the original forum
https://web.archive.org/web/20131225021652/http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=14875.0CPIC : Bolstering the Fleet
(taken from the NAVAL JOURNAL Vol1 No.1 June 1983.pp 7-8)
Like most navies of the world, the Philippine Navy concentrates on the protection of the country's territorial waters. With neither the mandate nor the means to range the world's oceans like the navies of the superpowers, the PN by choice and necessity limits itself to the country's boundaries.
Considering its mission and the country's geography, the PN has for long felt the need for a type of patrolship that is small but powerful, fast and aefficient that can range the open sea and penetrate shallow waters.The PN found thus suitable vessel: the Coastal Patrol and Interdiction Craft (CPIC). Not only does the CPIC posess the desired qualities , it is a type of ship for which the PN has already developed the technological capability to build.
In 1979, the Naval Shipyard at Naval Base Cavite (NBC) buiilt its first CPIC, PG-102 or the BRP BAGONG LAKAS. This patrol craft soon demonstrated its sea and combat worthiness in operations in the south where it stopped or neutralized enemy waterborne movements. Its manueverability and high speed make it most suitable for operations in moderate to rough seas, in coastal patrol, anti-smuggling, and other law-enforcement activities of the PN.
Since then the other two CPICs have been built with one of them, PG-104 or BRP BAGONG SILANG to be commisioned on June 21 1983, 2 days before Navy Day.
The latest CPIC to be built has just about the same specifications of its sister ships. THe hull is semi planing type with very fine entry for wasy "driving" and minimum pounding. It has an appreciable flare, giving a good reserve of forward buoyancy and deflection of solid-water and spray. The midbody is round and has a flat after plane and a slug to give good running characteristics and speed.
Contributing to the CPICs very fine performance is its excellent design where austerity and simplicity are maintained throughout. hull construction is such that structural continuity of the hull girder is preserved so that it can best resist sea loadings. The main deck is watertight from stem to stern and to shell. Pilothouse steering and propulsion controls are permitted to arrange one-man controls. Internal and external communications facilities are installed adjacent to the pilot house and make them readily accessible to the Officer on Watch. the gunfire control systems detects, acquires, tracks, and engages designated air and surface targets.
The PN now has four CPICs. The first, PG-101 or BRP KAGITINGAN served as the prototype. This was followed by PG-102, BRP BAGONG LAKAS, PG-103, BRP KATATAGAN, which was built by the Philippine Dockyards Corporation, and PG-104, BRP BAGONG SILANG.....
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Quote from: aldebaran on May 17, 2006, 04:17:58 PM
...the very first ship in the PN that has a semblance of modern weapons system is the BRP Kagitingan(PG-101) which was constructed in a small shipyard in Germany in 1979...prior to it's acquisition, what the PN has are a bunch of WWII-era vessels(WHECs like PF-7,8,10,11,DEs like PF-4,5,6,76, MSFs like PS-70 and 74,PCEs(180 footer) and PCs(170 footer) which are armed by manual and director-controlled 5"/38, 3"/50, 40MM and 20MM guns.
PG-101 has 2 twin 30MM Emerlec guns that are controlled by an Elsag NA10 Mod0 fire control system which uses an Orion10X fire control radar...this is something new for the PN because for the first time, personnel has to learn how a modern weapons system works...just an illustration, the 30MM gun mount is not manned, the operator works in a console in the operation room where a radar display shows when a target is locked on and a CCTV shows the actual target,the stabilized mount(using an anschutz vertical gyro) automatically adjust and point to the target regardless of the roll and pitch of the ship and an alarm sounds when the target is within firing range .. I was one of the 4 officers and several EM who were sent to Italy and Germany for six months to study these systems and I eventually commanded the ship in 1980.
When I last visited the PN specifically the base in Cavite in 2004, I saw the rusty hull of PG-101 which was already decommisioned with it's guns removed but the FC radar antenna still there...we spent millions of dollars in this ship and it's sister PG-102 but the PN, it seems, is unable to maintain it...maintenance involved trained personnel and availability of parts and these are more pronounced for newer systems all of which have extensive electronics and computerized components...even if we have trained personnel but the parts needed are not available, then ships and systems can not be properly maintained... the older gun systems are all mechanically operated and except for regular oiling/cleaning, there's not much that need to be done...I know the staff at HPN knows the importance of this, so I will not second guess them.
aldebaran
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January 25, 2009, 10:10:43 AM »
The hull of PG-101 and 102 is made of marine grade mild steel while the superstructure is made of marine aluminum alloy(I don't know the specific grade)...they have two MTU engines, 16 cylinders rated at almost 2000 hp each(I can't recall the exact model but it sounds like 16V538 ?)...the hull and superstructure of PG-101 looks a little better than 102 because it was made in Germany where the quality of steel and aluminum adheres to the standard...the plates used in 102 were procured locally and I don't know whether the naval shipyard has the facilities to test factors like tensile strength, yield strength etc.... I hope this helps
aldebaran
