Manila, March 25 -- The Philippine Navy (PN) said Tuesday the series of live exercises involving its newly acquired missile platforms, are part of the service's efforts to familiarize naval personnel with the operation of these weapon systems.

"We need to train so our personnel will know firsthand on firing these missiles (which are) new capabilities," PN spokesperson Capt. Benjo Negranza said during a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

He made this statement when asked why the PN would fire three of its missile systems during the "Balikatan" exercise this April.

Earlier, PN Chief, Vice Admiral Jose Ma. Ambrosio Padilla, said the Navy would conduct live-fire exercises with its Spike-NLOS surface-to-surface missiles, which a...