Target vessel sank before it could be hammered at drill in Philippines

A decommissioned vessel meant to be struck by missiles during a joint live-fire event of the Philippine Armed Forces and the U.S. military sank out of its own volition shortly before modern weaponry had a chance to send it to its watery grave.

The sinking of the BRP Miguel Malvar happened roughly 30 nautical miles west of San Antonio, Zambales, Philippines, a U.S. spokesman for the exercise said in a statement on Monday.

Still, certain elements of the Balikatan 25 Maritime Strike live-fire portion of the drill, in which the vessel was to participate, would take place as planned, according to the statement.

The Miguel Malvar “took on water while being positioned,” the statement reads, and sank at 7:20 a.m. at its intended location for the live-fire event. No personnel were injured, it notes.

“As is common, the vessel was selected because it exceeded its service life and was no longer suitable for normal operations,” the statement said.

While the vessel sank, the glitch did not sink the ability to conduct a command post exercise as part of the live-fire event. The statement did not detail what elements were still scheduled as part of the drill, but said “the combined force will still achieve its training objectives.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. joint task forces “will rehearse virtual and constructive fire missions,” the statement says. “The training will integrate ground, maritime, and air-based sensors and shooters into a combined, joint fires network, as the Philippine and U.S. joint task forces exercise command and control while increasing combined warfighting capability.”

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

一艘退役舰艇原本计划在菲律宾武装部队和美国军方的联合实弹演习中被导弹击沉，但在现代武器有机会将其送入海底之前不久，它自行沉没了。

美国军舰“米格尔·马尔瓦尔”号的沉没地点位于菲律宾赞巴莱斯省圣安东尼奥以西约30海里处，美国军演发言人周一在一份声明中表示。

不过，声明称，此次“肩并肩25”海上打击演习的实弹射击环节中的某些项目（该舰艇将参与其中）仍将按计划进行。

声明称，“米格尔·马尔瓦尔”号在定位过程中进水，并于上午7点20分在其预定实弹演习地点沉没。声明指出，无人受伤。

声明称：“按照惯例，这艘船被选中是因为它的使用寿命已过，不再适合正常作业。”

虽然舰艇沉没，但此次故障并未影响实弹演习中指挥所演练的进行。声明没有详细说明演习中哪些项目仍按计划进行，但表示“联合部队仍将实现其训练目标”。

声明称，菲律宾武装部队和美国联合特遣部队“将进行虚拟和模拟火力演练”。“此次训练将把地面、海上和空中传感器及射手整合到一个联合火力网络中，菲律宾和美国联合特遣部队将在演练指挥控制的同时，提升联合作战能力。”

珍·贾德森是一位屡获殊荣的记者，为《防务新闻》报道陆地战争。她也曾为《政治报》和《内幕防务》工作。她拥有波士顿大学新闻学硕士学位和凯尼恩学院文学学士学位。