The Philippine Navy recently commissioned two new fast attack interdiction craft (FAIC) into service.
BRP Herminigildo Yurong and BRP Laurence Narag are the fifth and sixth in the Acero-class, which are variants of the Shaldag-class patrol boats built by Israel Shipyards. Specifically, the Philippine vessels are examples of the Shaldag Mark V variant, which was designed to be the largest member in the Shaldag family to allow for greater carrying capacities while guaranteeing extended range and improved seakeeping.
The two vessels were delivered to the Philippines in late 2023.
As with their earlier sister boats, the two new FAICs have been named after Philippine Marine Corps personnel who were posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor, the Philippines' highest combat decoration.
Each vessel's armament consists of a Bushmaster 30mm autocannon, two Browning M2 12.7mm machine guns, M60 7.62mm general purpose machine guns, and Rafael Spike NLOS anti-ship missiles. The autocannon and the 12.7mm machine guns are mounted on Rafael Typhoon remote weapon stations while the 7.62mm guns are manually operated.