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| Philippine Navy Receives First Delivery of Patrol Ship Shaldag Mk V From Israel |
Manila - The Philippine Navy has received delivery of the first fast patrol boat Shaldag Mk V from Israel. Two of the eight ships ordered were delivered by cargo ship from the port of Haifa in northern Israel, according to photos published by Israel Shipyards.
In the summer of 2019, Israel Shipyards won a contract for eight high-speed patrol boats from the Philippines worth $195 million. The contract includes the Rafael weapon system and the renovation of marine infrastructure for the construction of this ship in the Philippines. In January 2020 it was agreed that four units of the Shaldag would be built in Israel, while another four would be built at a Philippine shipyard.
As previously reported by AR, four of the ships will be armed with Rafael Spike NLOS missiles with a range of 25 km, while the other four will be armed with naval guns. According to Israel Shipyards, the Shaldag Mk V is a battle proven ship. The ship is made of all-aluminum, light and fast, high payload capacity, agile maneuverability and easy maintenance.
The Shaldag Mk V is designed to operate in maritime security missions in coastal waters and can be relied upon for exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) protection patrols.
For specifications, the Shaldag Mk V has an LOA (Length Over All) 32.65 m, beam max. 6.20 m, and a dead weight of 95 tons. It has a maximum speed of 40 knots and an operating range of 1,000 NM with a cruising speed of 12 knots.
Currently, apart from Israel and the Philippines, another user of the Shaldag Mk V fast patrol boat is the Senegalese Navy.