The Philippine Navy in 2017 will receive the first of its new Saab AN/SPS-77 Sea Giraffe 3D Air Search Radars to equip its most modern naval frigates.

This after the U.S. Department of State approved the sale of the sophisticated radar system developed by Swedish aerospace and defense company, the Saab Group, to Philippine government.

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The system package for the Philippine Navy includes two Sea Giraffe radars in addition to installation, training, testing and support services. The deal will cost the Philippines $25 million.

The sale aims to improve the Philippine Navy's interoperability with the U.S. Navy, allowing the two navies to collaborate on missions more effectively.

The deal will be a huge boost to the Philippine Navy's effectiveness in protecting the Philippines' territorial sovereignty, especially in the disputed South China Sea. Sea Giraffe, which is in service with a number of other navies, will allow the Philippines to monitor its territories and Exclusive Economic Zones more accurately.

It can also be used to identify and track aircraft. They will be installed on two of the Hamilton-class cutters sold by the United States to the Philippine Navy.

Sea Giraffe AMB (Agile Multi Beam) is the naval variant of their Giraffe radar with 3D AMB technology. It can detect air and surface targets from the horizon up to an altitude of 20,000 meters at elevations of up to 70°.

It can simultaneously handle multiple threats approaching from different directions and altitudes, including diving anti-ship missiles. Equally important, it's specialized for rapidly detecting small, fast moving aerial targets at all altitudes and small surface targets in severe clutter.

Sea Giraffe has an instrumented range of 180 kilometers.

It will equip two of these three Philippine Navy frigates in the Philippine Fleet: BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (FF-15), BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16) and BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17).

All three are former Hamilton-class ships once operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and are now designated as Gregorio de Pilar-class frigates by the Philippine Navy. The newest ship is the BRP Andres Bonifacio that arrived in Manila on Dec. 9. 

TagsPhilippine Navy, Saab AN/SPS-77 Sea Giraffe 3D Air Search Radars, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Navy, Agile Multi Beam, Gregorio de Pilar-class frigates