A planned U.S.-Philippine live-fire exercise was canceled after the aging WWII-era BRP Miguel Malvar sank en route. Despite the setback, further drills continue as scheduled.
The United States Navy and the Philippine Navy were forced to cancel a planned joint exercise on Monday because the target warship sank in rough seas en route to the target site. The upcoming maritime strike (MARSTRIKE) was set to begin as part of the ongoing Balikatan joint drills, with the decommissioned World War II corvette BRP Miguel Malvar serving as the target.
It didn’t take any of the advanced weapons, which were to have included advanced anti-ship missiles, to send the Miguel Malvar to the bottom. Instead, the vessel floundered and sank in the disputed South China Sea, about thirty-three nautical miles off the western coast of the Philippines.
“It’s an eighty-year-old dilapidated ship, and it wasn’t able to withstand the rough seas,” Philippine Lt. Col. John Paul Salgado told The Associated Press.
Despite the Sinking of the Philippine Warship, the Exercises Will Continue
The Balikatan 2025 exercises, which began last week, are being conducted by a joint force of more than 14,000 Philippine, American, and Australian troops. The personnel have been training to counter a simulated amphibious invasion. While the live-fire drills were canceled, other exercises have been carried out. Balikatan 2025 will conclude on Friday.
Last year, the United States Navy employed multiple retired warships in “SINKEX” drills. Short for “Sink at-sea live-fire training exercises; SINKEX allows personnel to use real ammunition against practical targets, including warships.
The decommissioned ex-USS Dubuque, an Austin-class amphibious transport dock, was sunk by U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin B-2 Spirit bombers. At the same time, the amphibious assault ship ex-USS Tarawa was also sunk by U.S. Navy Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets armed with the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).
The History of That Philippine Warship
Initially built for the U.S. Navy during the Second World War, the vessel was launched and commissioned in 1944 as the USS Brattleboro. Serving as a rescue patrol craft, the 184-foot-long vessel was a floating field hospital that cared for the wounded during the invasion of the Philippines and later at Okinawa. In just six months in the war zone in the Pacific, the vessel treated more than 1,300 U.S. military personnel from every branch of the services.
Though a medical ship, the vessel was armed with a 3.150 caliber dual-purpose main gun, hedgehog anti-submarine rockets, six 20mm anti-aircraft guns, a pair of 40mm guns, and depth charge launchers.
For her role in the Second World War, the warship earned three battle stars.
The 1966 USS Battleboro was transferred to the Republic of Vietnam Navy and recommissioned as the Ngọc Hồi. With the fall of Saigon, which occurred fifty years ago last month, the warship escaped to the Philippines.
Formally acquired by Manila, the corvette joined other ex-RVN ships and was commissioned into the Philippine Navy as the RPS Miguel Malvar. Serving as a patrol ship, she became one of the most decorated vessels of the Philippine Navy.
She retired in December 2021.
The Philippine Navy took delivery of another vessel, Miguel Malvar, the first of two guided-missile corvettes built by South Korea, just last month.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Philippine Navy.
