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Philippines Enhances Maritime Defense with Commissioning of BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) Patrol Vessel.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines commissioned the offshore patrol vessel BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) on 24 February 2026 at Subic, alongside fast attack craft BRP Audrey Bañares (PG-910). The move strengthens Manila’s sustained presence and deterrence capacity in the contested West Philippine Sea amid repeated maritime confrontations.
On 24 February 2026, the Armed Forces of the Philippines formally commissioned BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) at Naval Operating Base Subic in Zambales, marking the induction of a new offshore patrol vessel built for extended maritime security operations. The ceremony also brought the fast attack interdiction craft BRP Audrey Bañares (PG-910) into active service, underscoring a layered fleet modernization effort. According to an official AFP statement posted on Facebook, the additions form part of a broader territorial defense enhancement program aimed at strengthening constabulary and deterrence functions in the West Philippine Sea. Designed for long endurance patrols across the country’s archipelagic sea lanes, the OPV expands the Navy’s capacity to sustain presence operations in contested waters while maintaining a calibrated, rules-based posture.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines commissioned the offshore patrol vessel BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS-20) at Subic on 24 February 2026 to strengthen sustained patrol and deterrence operations in the West Philippine Sea (Picture Source: Armed Forces of the Philippines)
The ceremony in Subic, led by AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. and the Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy, symbolically tied fleet modernization to national historical memory. BRP Rajah Sulayman takes its name from the pre-Hispanic leader who resisted Spanish forces during the 1570 Battle of Manila, while BRP Audrey Bañares honors a Navy commando killed in action off Zamboanga City in 2013. By commissioning an offshore patrol vessel and a fast attack interdiction craft on the same day and from the same pier, the AFP is signaling a deliberate fleet architecture: a blue-water-capable OPV to sustain presence and a high-speed littoral combatant to conduct interceptions and short-notice responses. General Brawner’s emphasis that modernization is “not a signal of aggression” but a “statement of responsibility” aligns the event with a deterrence-by-presence logic rather than power projection, directly linking naval renewal to crisis management and the prevention of miscalculation.
From a platform perspective, BRP Rajah Sulayman is the lead unit of a new six-ship Rajah Sulayman-class of offshore patrol vessels ordered from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries under a ₱30 billion contract signed in 2022. Measuring about 94.4 meters in length with a beam of 14.3 meters and a full-load displacement in the 2,400–2,450-ton range, the ship is sized between traditional patrol vessels and light frigates. A combined diesel-and-diesel propulsion arrangement driving controllable-pitch propellers delivers a top speed of roughly 22 knots and a range of about 5,500 nautical miles at cruising speed, with endurance on station of around 20–30 days depending on load and sea state. A crew complement of about 72 personnel, with accommodation for additional mission specialists, reflects a level of automation tailored to long deployments in the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The class is thus optimized for sustained patrols and maritime domain awareness rather than high-intensity surface warfare, but with significant margins reserved for future capability growth.
In its current configuration, BRP Rajah Sulayman fields a gun-centric but modern combat system. A Leonardo OTO Melara 76 mm Super Rapid gun in the A-position serves as the main battery for surface engagements and limited naval gunfire support against shore targets. Two Aselsan SMASH 30 mm remote-controlled weapon stations provide close-in coverage against fast inshore attack craft and other small surface threats, while manually operated 12.7 mm heavy machine guns reinforce the very short-range defensive ring against asymmetric actors such as unmarked militia boats or suspicious fishing vessels. The defensive layer is built around C-Guard decoy launchers, radar electronic support measures and other electronic warfare aids that support soft-kill responses against radar-guided threats. Design provisions for additional hard-kill systems, including short-range surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and modular towed-array sonars on some hulls, create a pathway for the class to evolve from a pure OPV into a limited surface-warfare and anti-submarine platform as budgets and requirements permit.
These weapons are integrated by a Hanwha combat management system that fuses inputs from a Leonardo SPS-732 X-band air/surface surveillance radar, Hensoldt SharpEye navigation radars, Safran PASEO XLR electro-optical/infrared director and an Anschütz Synapsis NX integrated bridge. In naval operational terms, this gives BRP Rajah Sulayman a coherent local maritime picture that can be shared over tactical data links with other AFP units and partner navies, turning the ship into a sensor and command node rather than just a patrolling hull. The stern mission bay and boat facilities for two RHIBs support visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations, interdiction of suspect craft and law-enforcement missions in gray-zone environments where actors often operate below the threshold of declared hostilities. A flight deck and hangar for a 10-tonne naval helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles provide organic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), extending the vessel’s surveillance horizon and enabling over-the-horizon cueing for other air or surface assets. Together, these features position the ship at the constabulary end of the sea-control spectrum: it is not equipped to fight a high-end fleet engagement, but it is purpose-built to detect, document and, if necessary, counter coercive activities in the EEZ.
Within the Philippine order of battle, BRP Rajah Sulayman is designed to operate as part of a layered and distributed maritime posture. High-end frigates handle area air defense and more demanding deterrence missions, while the new offshore patrol vessels assume the burden of routine sovereignty patrols, convoy escort for resupply missions, fisheries protection and presence in remote sea lanes. The concurrent commissioning of BRP Audrey Bañares, a fast attack interdiction craft, underlines this division of labor: the OPV acts as a mothership and command node in open waters, while the smaller, more agile craft operate closer to the coast and in constrained waters for interception, warning shots or rapid reaction tasks. This reflects a distributed maritime operations logic in miniature, in which effectors are spread across multiple platforms but tied together by shared situational awareness. For Manila, that approach supports deterrence by presence: rather than relying on a few high-value units, the navy aims to keep multiple, networked platforms on station across key maritime approaches.
The regional environment gives tangible weight to this concept of operations. In recent years, the Philippines has repeatedly reported water-cannon attacks, ramming and dangerous maneuvers by foreign coast guard and maritime militia vessels against its resupply missions and fishing fleets in the West Philippine Sea, notably around Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal and other disputed features. In such scenarios, an offshore patrol vessel with robust seakeeping, calibrated rules-of-engagement options and high-quality sensors is a tool for escalation management as much as for deterrence: it can maintain close contact, record evidence for legal and diplomatic use, shield vulnerable civilian craft and demonstrate resolve without immediately resorting to heavy missiles or high-end combat power. As additional Rajah Sulayman-class hulls join the fleet through 2028, forming an OPV squadron distributed between the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Rise and the southern maritime approaches, frigates and other major surface combatants will be freed to focus on higher-intensity tasks and joint exercises with allies.
The commissioning of BRP Rajah Sulayman into active service therefore marks more than the arrival of a new ship; it signals a gradual but deliberate reshaping of the Philippine Navy into a force able to sustain persistent, networked maritime operations across an exposed archipelago. Anchored in an official narrative that presents modernization as a responsibility in support of peace, the vessel embodies a shift from episodic, reactive patrols to a posture built around deterrence by presence, distributed sensors and scalable response options. As the Rajah Sulayman-class expands and integrates with coastal surveillance systems, maritime patrol aircraft and security partnerships with countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia, each new hull will function as another node in a wider maritime defense architecture. In that context, BRP Rajah Sulayman is both a symbol of national resolve and a practical instrument for managing day-to-day frictions at sea, giving Manila more options to defend its rights and obligations under international law without forfeiting control over escalation.