The future BRP Miguel Malvar in Subic Bay, April 8, 2025. (Handout/AFP)

The first of two corvette-class warships with “advanced weapons and radar systems” was delivered to the Philippines Tuesday.

The arrival of the 3,200-ton guided missile corvette, the future BRP Miguel Malvar, is part of a two-ship deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2021.

The other ship, the BRP Diego Silang is expected to arrive in the country several months from now, after it was formally launched in Ulsan, South Korea.

Hyundai Heavy Industries also supplied the country’s first two Jose Rizal Class guided missile frigates in 2018.

Corvettes are small, fast warships mainly used to protect other vessels from attack.

The arrival of the ship marked “a critical step toward developing a self-reliant and credible defense posture”, the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement.

“(The) Miguel Malvar is here today not only to serve as a deterrent and protector of our waters but also as an important component in joint and combined operations” with allies, DND chief Gilberto Teodoro said at a Subic Bay naval base ceremony.

The deal for the two ships was first unveiled in 2021, five years after Hyundai Heavy Industries had won a contract to build two new frigates for the Philippine Navy.

The military said last month that the two corvettes would “significantly enhance the country’s naval capabilities amid growing security challenges in the West Philippine Sea”.