More muscle was added to the military’s naval fleet in eastern and western Mindanao with the Philippine Navy deploying three of its newly acquired multi-purpose attack crafts (MPACs).

The send-off ceremony for the vessels took place at the Captain Moya Boat Landing in Sangley Point, Cavite earlier this week.

Set in motion on 23 September and made part of the part of the recently-activated Fourth Boat Attack Division of the Littoral Combat Force, one of the MPAC Mark IIIs will be under the operational control of Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao while the other two will used to by the Naval Forces Western Mindanao to support in the ongoing anti-kidnapping operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the region.

“These brand new, highly maneuverable fast crafts play a crucial role in strengthening the country’s littoral defense and improve maritime interdiction capability, “Philippine Fleet deputy commander, Commodore Wilfredo Burgonio said.

“Like their missile-capable predecessors, these MPACs will soon be equipped with machine gun and missile systems, making them more lethal and capable of delivering precision fire against the enemies within the littoral,” he added.

With running speeds of 30 to 45 knots, the MPACs can be armed with machineguns and surface-to-surface Spike-ER missiles acquired from Israel.