BRP Rajah Lakandula commissioned during 128th Philippine Navy ceremony
The second Rajah Sulayman-class offshore patrol vessel, BRP Rajah Lakandula (PS-21), has officially commissioned into active service within the Philippine Navy’s Offshore Combat Force (OCF) during the celebration of the service branch’s 128th founding anniversary on June 9, 2026.
The ceremony took place in Naval Station Jose Andrada in Roxas Boulevard, which is where the main Headquarters of the Philippine Navy currently situated. This is also the first Rajah Sulayman-class offshore patrol vessel that have its ceremony took place in the said venue, as the first warship of the class – BRP Rajah Sulayman (PS20), got commissioned in Naval Operating Base Subic months prior to this event – on February 24, 2026.
Initially taking place on May 29, 2026, the founding anniversary celebration, along with the commissioning ceremony of the ship has since then moved into a later date, citing the busy schedule of President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr as the guest of honor and speaker of the ceremony, which at the time was on his way to the country after a successful state visit from Japan, bearing good news which ranges from a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into a prospective transfer of Abukuma-class destroyer escorts and planned export of Type 88 surface to ship missiles successfully tested during the sinking exercise phase of Balikatan 2026.
Days before the initial date of its commissioning, BRP Rajah Lakandula got christened by the Philippine on May 26, 2026, which part of the needed process before the actual ceremony that will introduce it into active duty. Once commissioned, the number of active Rajah Sulayman-class offshore patrol vessels will increase to two (2) units, joining lead-ship BRP Rajah Sulayman in upholding the core mandate of the Philippine Navy in securing the seas.
Made by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the BRP Rajah Lakandula forms part of the Rajah Sulayman-class offshore patrol vessels, a six-warship procurement under the Offshore Patrol Vessel Acquisition Project of the Philippine Navy, with its core design principle derived from the South Korean shipbuilder’s marketed HDP-2200+ OPV design.
= = =
(c) 2026 Pitz Defense Updates, a Pitz Defense Analysis extension.