The Philippine Navy’s Western Mindanao Command announced on October 30 that it had successfully tested its Rafael Spike ER anti-armor missile during a maritime exercise near Salkulakit Island in Basilan Province.
The missile was launched by one of the service’s multipurpose assault craft (MPAC), which was assigned to the 3rd assault division and destroyed a simulated surface target from a distance of 4 kilometers during the evolution of the Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) It said that during the five-day Pagsisikap 2021 exercise.
The exercise aims to test a range of capabilities, including amphibious and maritime interception operations, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as military-civilian relations and other traditional and non-traditional naval operations. In addition to MPAC, the service also deployed its strategic maritime vessel BRP Tarlac, which uses two landing craft and two amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) to support amphibious landing exercises.
The Philippine Navy has a fleet of 12 MPACs — similar in appearance to the Swedish combat boat No. 90 — in service from 2009 to 2019, aiming to perform coastal operations at speeds of up to 45 knots.
Not all MPACs have missile capabilities. At present, only the 8th, 9th and 10th ships produced in the 3rd and 4th batches are equipped with Raphael’s Typhoon MLS ER launcher and Mini Typhoon 12.7 mm remote-controlled weapon system.
According to the Western Mindanao Navy, the Spike-ER missile has an effective range of 8 kilometers and can penetrate 1,000 mm of rolled homogeneous armor. Each launcher can carry up to four missiles to be launched. A missile was launched as part of the acceptance test after being delivered to the Philippine Navy in 2018, although that happened as a separate incident.
Xiao Wu
