The Philippine Navy’s three latest multipurpose attack craft (MPACs) are expected to be fitted with missile armament by the last quarter of this year. They schedule for the fitting of the (Rafael Advanced Defense Ltd.) Spike-ER (extended range surface-to-surface missile system) is in the fourth quarter of 2020. These were delivered and activated by the Navy on September 23, 2019, bringing the number of MPACs in PN service to 12. At present, three of these MPACs are already armed with Spike-ER missiles.
Asked if there are plans to arm all attack craft acquired earlier with Spike-ER, Philippine Navy flag-officer-in-command, Rear Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said there is none but there are initiatives to equip all of these boats with mini-Typhoon light-weight remote-controlled weapon stations (RCWS) and are capable of being fitted with .50-caliber heavy machinegun and or a lighter 7.62mm machine gun for additional firepower. Not all would be armed with (Spiker-ER) missiles but all would be fitted with the mini-Typhoon RCWS. The Philippine Navy MPAC are fitted with the Typhoon MLS-ER Naval Missile System by Rafael.
Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) is a type of fast attack/assault craft developed for the Philippine Navy. Originally designed to transport troops at a high speed and then land them on the beach, they have since expanded their roles to include interdiction, search & rescue and surface warfare. A total of 42 boats are needed by the Navy of which 12 have been completed as of September 2019. The Mk 3 version of the MPAC are the very first ships in the entire history of the Philippine Navy to be officially armed with missiles. MPAC MK 3 are 16,5-meter-long vessels capable of running at a speed of 30 to 45 knots.
The Spike-ER system, which arrived in the Philippines in April 2018, is the PN’s first missile weapon capable of penetrating 1,000-mm (39 inches) of rolled homogeneous armor and has a range of eight kilometers. The SPIKE ER2 is a multi-purpose, multi-platform missile system for ranges up to 10 km. The SPIKE ER has not only Fire and forget capability, but also Fire, Observe and Update capability enabling targeting changes in real-time. It was designed to be mounted on combat vehicles, helicopters and naval vessels. In addition to the above modes of operation the SPIKE ER2 also has a Fire and Steer mode where the operator can launch the missile without pre-locking onto the target.
