PHL Navy's new ship, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz,  reaches San Diego

The BRP Ramon Alcaraz, the Philippine Navy's newest warship, has docked at San Diego en route to Manila, the Philippine Embassy in Washington said.

 

"BRP Ramon Alcaraz now in San Diego," the embassy said in a post on its Twitter account.

 

Earlier, the embassy said the BRP Alcaraz may take nearly two months to reach the Philippines.

 

During its voyage, the Navy successfully tested the main weapon system of the Alcaraz - the 76-mm Oto Melara cannon - off the coast of Florida.

 

The embassy said the ship's commander, Capt. Ernesto Baldovino, was satisfied with the results of the test-firing of Alcaraz's main cannon.

 

It said the test firing involved shooting at targets "two to three miles away."

 

The ship had been refurbished and refitted at a cost of $15.15 million since it was acquired by the Philippines in May 2012.

 

BRP Ramon Alcaraz is the second Hamilton-class cutter acquired by the Philippines under the Excess Defense Article and Military Assistance Program, after the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF15).

 

The Philippine Embassy said the 378-foot-long BRP Ramon Alcaraz was originally commissioned in 1968 and served in the US Coast Guard as the USCGC Dallas.

 

It was decommissioned and turned over to the Philippines in May.

 

The Navy's newest warship was named after Commodore Ramon Alcaraz, a Philippine Navy officer who commanded a patrol boat that shot down three Japanese aircraft.  — ELR, GMA News