Philippine Navy narrows its renewed search for OPVs
A screengrab from ASFAT’s promotional video for its OPV, as shown at ADAS 2022 in Manila in late April. (ASFAT)
The ADAS 2022 exhibition in Manila threw up some updates on the Philippine Navy’s quest for half a dozen OPVs.
After ditching a plan to buy six OPVs from Austal in March, the Philippine Navy (PN) spread its net farther afield to find a bidder willing to provide the required number of vessels within the PHP30 billion ($576 million) budget.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana explained that price was the sticking point with Austal.
‘Pending our approval of the contract for the purchase, they said the cost has increased – materials, labour and everything,’ Lorenzana explained.
‘They asked for additional payment. I think our budget is PHP30 billion, so they want PHP12 billion more for the six OPVs, or they said we
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