Project Santa Barbara was a

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

program developed under the administration of Philippine president

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

(1965–86) during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. The first successful launch was in 1972. The project was discontinued due to undisclosed reasons.

Background

Project Santa Barbara was initiated by the administration of Philippine president

and it involved the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

and a group of scientists. It was conceived amidst the United States withdrawal of its armed forces in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

and in anticipation that the US would also withdraw its forces stationed in the Philippines. Under the program, different types of missiles were developed which are intended to intercept land, sea, and air-based threats. There were also plans to export missiles developed under the program to friendly countries. One of the missiles developed was the Bongbong rocket, named after the moniker of President Marcos' son Ferdinand Jr. The

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

of the United States described the weapon as the Philippines' first

liquid-propellant rocket A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket uses a rocket engine burning liquid rocket propellant, liquid propellants. (Alternate approaches use gaseous or Solid-propellant rocket , solid propellants.) Liquids are desirable propellants because th ...

. The associated weaponry system of the Bongbong rocket is similar to the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

unguided

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

Katyusha Katyusha () is a diminutive of the Russian name Ekaterina or Yekaterina, the Russian form of Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in c ...

. The 37 dynamic tests were conducted, with most of the test conducted on

Caballo Island Caballo Island (which means "Horse Island" in Spanish) is a bluff, rocky island located at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines. It is about long with the highest elevation at 381 feet high. Caballo, along with the larger Corregidor (2& ...

. Four of the test were made in

Fort Magsaysay Fort Ramon Magsaysay, also known as the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation (FMMR) and sometimes shortened to Fort Mag, is the largest military reservation in the Philippines and serves as a key training area for the Armed Forces of the Philippi ...

. The first successful launch under the project involved the Bongbong rocket. The launch was made on March 12, 1972 with the rocket retrieved from the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

. The project was discontinued due to undisclosed reasons.

References

{{Reflist

External links

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxHtd1XYaCw - A 1973 parade featuring the Bongbong rocket archived i
Ghostarchive.org
on 3 May 2022 Rockets and missiles Ferdinand Marcos Experimental rockets Philippine Army Secret military programs