BRP Antonio Luna wins at RIMPAC live fire exercise


Philippine Navy (PN) missile-capable frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) notched the third place among 17 participating multinational warships in the Naval Surface Fire Support (NSFS) Rodeo of the at-sea phase of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Thursday, August 4.

Vice Admiral Michael Boyle (left, standing), the US 3rd Fleet Commander and the Combined Task Force Commander in RIMPAC 2022, calls the commanding officer of BRP Antonio Luna (FF151), Captain Charles Merric Villanueva, to the front while announcing that the Philippine Navy frigate bagged third place overall in the Naval Surface Fire Support Rodeo of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) 2022 in Hawaii on August 4, 2022.

The NSFS Rodeo is a naval gunfire accuracy competition where participants are given a two-dimensional virtual land target information by the designated naval gunfire liaison officer, according to Commander Benjo Negranza, PN spokesperson.

The participants are then given a practice run for gun fire correction prior to proceeding for the record firing.

The performance reports are provided by the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) using its computerized evaluation system.

Negranza said that BRP Antonio Luna made it to the third spot with only an eight-meter differential from the first placer USS Mobile Bay of the United States, and four meters off the second placer ARM Juarez of Mexico.

Vice Adm. Michael Boyle, commander of the United States 3rd Fleet and head of the RIMPAC 2022 Combined Task Force, presented the award to BRP Antonio Luna commanding officer, Capt. Charles Merrick Villanueva.

"This achievement manifested that the Philippine Navy is capable of being at par with best navies in the world, which RIMPAC 2022 has helped validate by providing resources and environment that permit multinational participants to achieve their individual and collective training objectives," Negranza said.

The PN was participating in the RIMPAC 2022, the world's largest maritime exercise.