The Philippine Navy’s (PN) missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) has conducted a series of lectures and simulated training regarding the vital “replenishment-at-sea” (RAS) which is a hallmark of modern navies.
These lectures and simulated training took place Wednesday at Naval Operating Base Subic, the ship’s Facebook page said in a post on Thursday.
BRP Antonio Luna’s crew were aided in these drills by the Navy’s fleet operational readiness and evaluation group (FORTEG), it added.
“Unknown to many, RAS is a ship’s evolution where fuel, supplies, and transfer of personnel at sea are done. ‘UNREP’ may sometimes be called, which means, ‘Underway Replenishment’. This evolution is essential for the ship to operate for extended periods of time at sea without going back to port to replenish. RAS only involves two ships to conduct said evolution,” the frigate’s Facebook post added.
BRP Antonio Luna is a RAS-capable ship that is outfitted with the necessary tools and equipment to carry out this evolution. However, the ship needs to be qualified first before going to an actual RAS.
“In order to do this, it is the initiative of the ship’s training team and crew to conduct a drill related to RAS through simulation in order to enhance the ship’s capability to operate at sea when necessary,” it added.
RAS lectures took place in the morning while the simulation took place in the afternoon.
“While FF-151 is the delivery ship, some of the crew went to the dock and used a scaffolding or construction platform to serve as the receiving ship. Conducting stated training for the first time wasn’t simple, but with persistence and the willingness to learn, the training was successful! Indeed, the ship’s crew can anticipate another RAS drill the following week!” BRP Antonio Luna’s Facebook post further said.
“Yesterday’s (Wednesday) training ended through the giving of tokens and certificates of appreciation to FORTEG personnel. The ship’s crew were left with words to never stop training and grow weary of learning,” it added.