F/A-18C/D Hornets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 will be participating in a South China Sea maritime strike drill against a Second World War-era Corvette during Balikatan 2025.
“The F/A-18s will be taking part in the Maritime Strike event where several Armed Forces Philippines, U.S., and Australian Defense Force platforms will integrate to simultaneously sense and shoot a decommissioned ship,” U.S. Navy spokesperson Lt. Carlos M. Gomez confirmed to USNI News.
The Marine Hornets previously arrived at Clark Air Base for Cope Thunder 2025, an annual two-part Air Force exercise between U.S. and Philippine forces focusing on aerial combat and logistics. This year’s iteration was the first time that the Marine fighters participated in the drills, joining the Pacific Air Force F-16s that usually composed the American contingent.
According to Philippine state media, the ex-BRP Miguel Malvar (PS-19) will be the target during the sinking exercise. The patrol craft escort was constructed in 1944 as USS Brattleboro (PCE(R)-852), and later saw service in the Republic of Vietnam Navy before escaping to the Philippines after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Manila commissioned the former South Vietnamese vessel as a corvette a year later. Miguel Malvar was stricken from the Philippine naval registry in 2021 as one of the last Second World War-era warships to leave the fleet.
While Gomez could not confirm the number of Hornets participating in the Balikatan, Air Force photos during Cope Thunder show at least eight of the fighters at Clark Air Base alongside 12 F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 14th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. Philippine state media has claimed that the Air Force fighters will also be participating in the maritime strike.
“There is a clear and present danger in the Pacific. That’s why our U.S. Air Force has 16 aircraft, including 12 F-16s, and around 450 Airmen training alongside our allies as part of Balikatan ‘25. While the Chinese have clients, we have true partners and there’s a huge difference,” read an X post from Gen. David W. Allvin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force on the service’s presence at Balikatan.
Maritime strike and sinking exercises have been the culminating activity for the last two iterations of Balikatan. In 2023, a decommissioned corvette rolled beneath the waves after being struck by numerous bombs and artillery rounds in the South China Sea. 2024’s iteration saw the Philippine Navy’s first anti-ship missile firing against a Chinese-built tanker. American fighter aircraft have traditionally dropped laser-guided bombs on these targets.
2025’s iteration is set to host a “full battle test” across the Philippine archipelago between April 21 and May 9. The drills include 14,000 personnel from American, Philippine, Australian and, for the first time, Japanese forces. Aside from the maritime strike, coastal defense drills are scheduled in Palawan and Northern Luzon. The Marine Corps has also deployed Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems to Batanes, a group of islands near Taiwan and within the strategic chokepoint of the Luzon Strait.
