BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PS-40)

The ship now known as BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PS-40) was launched on December 18, 1965, at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana, as USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715) and was named for Alexander Hamilton the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and founder of the United States Revenue Cutter Service. Hamilton was commissioned March 18, 1967. The ship is designed with a high level of habitability and provides fairly comfortable accommodations, including air conditioning. Gregorio del Pilar is the first Philippine military vessel to employ the now common shipboard application of aircraft gas turbine jet engines with the use of controllable pitch propellers and is equipped with two Pratt & Whitney gas turbines that can propel the ship at speeds up to . Gregorio del Pilar also has two Fairbanks-Morse The CIWS and chain guns were removed by the US Coast Guard prior to its turn-over to the Philippine Navy. Only the Mk.75 gun remains. Plans to install additional weapons were made, which includes one Mk. 38 Mod 1 25 mm chain gun aft, two Mk.16 20 mm autocannons midships, and six 12.7 mm machine guns. The Philippines reportedly ordered at least four new Mk.38 Mod 3 25mm naval guns, and these are expected to be installed on all Gregorio del Pilar class ships. It was also reported that the Philippine Navy will be getting sophisticated a radar system capable of detecting and tracking surface threats, a Harpoon anti-ship missile system, and torpedo decoy systems. This would be purchased from the United States possibly under a government-to-government deal. Flight support The ship has a flight deck and hangar capable of handling helicopters. A BO-105 light surveillance helicopter was initially assigned to the ship, and was replaced by the AgustaWestland AW109 Power, which made its first official shipboard deployment on May 21, 2014. Modernization The Philippine Navy plans to modernize the entire ship of the class, with an initial program to upgrade the ship's sensors, and another program to improve its weapon systems. Several systems were acquired through US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF), which includes the BAE Systems Mk. 38 Mod. 2 machine gun system, the SAAB AN/SPS-77 Sea Giraffe AMB 3D air/surface search radar, and the FLIR Systems SeaFLIR 230 Electro-Optical/Infra-Red Camera. Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy will launch a program to acquire, install and integrate several other sensors into the ship, as part of the Horizon 2 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program. Among those to be acquired are new Combat Management System (CMS), Hull Mounted Sonar (HMS), and a Radar Electronic Support Measures (R-ESM). Future upgrades are planned to install defensive and offensive missile systems, as well as torpedo weapon system, although funding is still being secured and might only be included in the next phase of the Navy's modernization program. In 2020 October 14, Navy chief Giovanni Carlo Bacordo revealed the completion of the 3D modeling program for the entire ship class' cabling systems to be used for their electronic upgrades (CMS + 4 sensors). ==Service history==

United States Coast Guard (1967–2011) In 1988, Hamilton completed a three-year fleet renovation and modernization that provided the ship with modern weapons and electronics systems. All spaces and machinery were also completely overhauled and refurbished. The new technology enables Hamilton to operate seamlessly with the United States Navy. Philippine Navy (2011–present) Proposal to decommission USCGC Hamilton from the US Coast Guard was made for fiscal year 2011 budget, and the Philippines sent a formal letter of interest for its purchase. USCGC Hamilton was decommissioned on March 28, 2011, and transferred to the Philippine Navy as an excess defense article under the Foreign Assistance Act. The Philippines sent a team to conduct a thorough inspection of the ship in November 2010. The US Coast Guard removed some of the ship's equipment before its transfer to the Philippine Navy and plans to use those equipment as spare parts for the other US Coast Guard ships. Among those that were removed are the AN/SPS-40 air surface search radar, Phalanx CIWS, and two Mk.38 M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain guns. In return, the US Coast Guard began procuring and installing the safe-to-sail navigation equipment, radar systems and additional electronics that the Philippines requested as part of its transfer support case. Training for the crew started in January 2011, when the US Coast Guard provided 10 weeks of combined dockside and underway training on for the ship's prospective commanding officer, executive officer and crew. She arrived on the Philippines on August 17, 2011 after port visit in Guam. Gregorio del Pilar arrived in Manila on August 21, 2011. The arrival ceremony was held on August 23, 2011, and minor improvements were done the following days. President Benigno Aquino III's elder sister, Ballsy Cruz, was the principal sponsor of the ship. President Aquino hoped that this, his first major military acquisition, would be a symbol of his administration's intention to strengthen and modernize the Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces, and to defend its territory and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea. BRP Gregorio del Pilar was involved in a standoff in 2012 at the Scarborough Shoal when it tried to apprehend eight Chinese fishing vessels in the island. BRP Gregorio del Pilar was also one of the naval vessels that the AFP Western Command sent to help in the searching efforts for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. aboard the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, November 17, 2015 On November 17, 2015, United States President Barack Obama visited and toured the ship on the sidelines of the APEC Summit to highlight the United States' commitment to assist East Asian countries in maritime security, amidst the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. After touring the ship, he announced that a third Hamilton-class cutter similar to Gregorio del Pilar (USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719)) and the research vessel will be turned over to the Philippine Navy. Around mid-2016, the Philippine Navy started calling the ship in its new code designation FF-15, together with its sister ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz which was re-designated as FF-16, and the new BRP Andres Bonifacio designated as FF-17. On August 29, 2018, she ran aground at Half Moon Shoal in the South China Sea off Palawan. She was eventually removed from the shoal on September 3, 2018, and towed to Subic Bay for repairs. In September 2022, Gregorio Del Pilar completed a four-year repair and overhaul period. It was then announced that the ship will soon deploy to the South China Sea. On 7 April 2024, Gregorio del Pilar conducted a joint patrol in the South China Sea with BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151), BRP Valentin Diaz (PS-177), of the US Navy, of the Royal Australian Navy, and JS Akebono of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. This marked the first multinational patrol among the nations. The ship was re-designated with a new hull number, PS-40, as of March 2026. ==Notable operational deployments==

Port calls On July 27, 2011, Gregorio del Pilar arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam for a scheduled port visit. She took on supplies and fuel, and held a reception hosted by the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu and the Philippine Celebrations Coordinating Committee of Hawaii. The crew also visited the USS Arizona Memorial. It also marks the first time a Philippine naval vessel pulled into Pearl Harbor. Exercises On July 30, 2011, Gregorio del Pilar and conducted a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) off the coast of Hawaii. On August 14–16, 2012, the Naval Forces Northern Luzon (NFNL) conducted a small-scale Naval Exercise code-named SAGEX 02–12 at the waters of South China Sea. BRP Gregorio del Pilar together with and participated under Naval Task Force (NTF) 11. The exercise includes patrol, simulated tracking of targets and interdiction and capped by live firing exercises. Gregorio del Pilar, together with BRP Rajah Humabon participated in the sea phase exercises with the US Navy during the Balikatan 2013 from April 5 to 17, 2013. The ship conducted an offshore visit at Lingayen, Pangasinan during the city's "Pistay Dayat 2013" ("Feast of the Sea 2013"), with an open house tour and rescue exhibition exercises performed by the crew. From June 27 to July 2, 2013, Gregorio del Pilar participated in joint naval maneuvers during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training 2013 Philippines (CARAT 2013 Philippines) with other Philippine and United States naval and coast guard ships. The at-sea phase was conducted on June 27 off the waters midway from Zambales province and Scarborough Shoal. The ship, together with its sister ship participated in joint naval maneuvers as part of CARAT 2014 Philippines from June 26 to July 1, 2014. It was scheduled to conduct exercises on gunnery, combined air, surface, anti-submarine operations at sea. In May 2018, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar participated in the Third Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo 2018 held from May 8 to 9, 2018 in Lombok, Indonesia. ==See also==