The Philippine Navy launched a new fast attack interdiction craft (FAIC) into the water at its shipyard facilities in Cavite province south of Manila on Tuesday, November 12.
The future BRP Albert Majini is the first locally-built example of the Acero-class FAICs, which are variants of the Shaldag Mark V patrol boats built by Israel Shipyards. All seven preceding Acero-class boats were built at Israel Shipyards' Haifa facilities.
Upon completion, the FAIC will have an LOA of 32.65 metres, a beam of 6.2 metres, a displacement of approximately 95 tonnes at full load, and space for 12 crewmembers. Two diesel engines will propel the vessel to a maximum speed of 43 knots while a range of 1,600 nautical miles can be achieved at a cruising speed of 15 knots.
The vessel's armament will consist of a 30mm autocannon, two 12.7mm machine guns, 7.62mm general purpose machine guns, and Rafael Spike NLOS anti-ship missiles that can strike targets up to 25 kilometres away. The autocannon and the 12.7mm machine guns will be mounted on Rafael Typhoon remote weapon stations while the 7.62mm guns will be manually operated.
The eighth Acero-class FAIC is named after Ensign Albert Majini, a Philippine Navy officer who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor, the Philippines' highest combat decoration, for his actions during anti-piracy operations in the country's southern waters in 1980.