Indonesia begins construction of second Bung Karno-class indigenous corvette

 

TNI-AL and shipyard officials during the first steel cutting ceremony. Photo c/o TNI-AL.

Indonesian shipbuilder PT Karimun Anugrah Sejati has reached the First Steel Cutting milestone for the second Bung Karno-class corvette it is constructing for the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL), with the ceremony held on 25 January 2024 at the shipbuilder’s yard in Batam, Riau Islands.

The Indonesian Navy’s Chief of Logistics Rear Admiral Eko Sunarjanto led the ceremonies together with officials from the Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), and PT Karimun Anugrah Sejati, and stressed the importance of the construction of the new corvette in maintaining and securing the country’s sovereignty and interests, and supporting the Indonesian indigenous shipbuilding and defense industries.

It remains to be seen as to what the final fit-out and primary role of the ship would be, as the first ship of the class, the KRI Bung Karno (369), was built  as a Presidential Corvette, mixing VVIP facilities, command and control, and limited combat systems for self-defense and offshore patrol missions.

So far, the ship has been built with spaces for Fitted For But Not With (FFBNW) equipment, with no timelines publicly announced on when these capabilities would be installed. The ship is expected to be launched before the end of the year.

It is believed that the ship will be armed with a 76mm main gun, two twin anti-ship missile launchers, and two short-range air defense system (SHORAD) launchers.

The basic Bung Karno-class ship has a crew of 55 officers and seamen, a length of 73 meters, a beam of 12 meters, and displaces at around 650 tonnes. 

It is powered by two diesel engines delivering maximum out of 4,000KW, enabling the ship to reach a maximum speed of 24 knots.

It has a helicopter landing deck for a medium-sized naval helicopter or unmanned aerial vehicles, and can carry rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) for support and ship-boarding operations. 

[1] Indonesian Navy

[2] GBP Aerospace and Defence

Keel laying & first steel cutting milestones reached for new Philippine LPDs

 

A scale model of PT PAL's LPD for the Philippine Navy. Photo c/o Asian Defence Journal.

Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL held simultaneous ceremonies marking the milestones in the construction of two new Landing Platform Docks (LPD) for the Philippine Navy (PN).

On 15 January 2024, the shipbuilder held the Keel Laying Ceremony for the first LPD, and also the First Steel Cutting Ceremony for the second LPD, with officials from the Philippine Navy led by its Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Caesar Bernard Valencia, Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Gina Jamoralin, PT PAL CEO Dr. Kaharuddin Djenod, and Indonesian Government present to witness the event.

The new LPDs are being built as part of the Philippine Navy’s Landing Docks Acquisition Project, which aims to increase the amphibious and logistics capability of the Philippine Navy as a follow-on to an earlier order for two similar ships, now commissioned with the P{N as the Tarlac-class.

The ships will be 124 meters long,  21.8 meters wide, displaces at around 7,200 tonnes, and has a maximum speed of 16 knots powered by two marine diesel engines. 

It has a helicopter deck for two medium helicopters, and a hangar for one naval helicopter. It also has a welldeck that can fit two small landing crafts utility (LCU) or two of the Philippine Navy’s own Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (MPAC) .

According to Philippine defense page MaxDefense Philippines, the ships will have fitted for but not with (FFBNW) allocation for defensive weapon systems that may include a main and secondary guns, as well as a potential allocation for short-range air defense systems (SHORADS) or close-in weapon systems (CIWS).

PT PAL is expected to launch the first ship before the end of 2024, and deliver the ship to the Philippine Navy by 2025. The second ship is expected to be launched by early or mid 2025 and delivered by late 2025 or early 2026.

[1] PT PAL Indonesia

[2] Philippine Defense Resource

Indonesia shows interest to acquire Chinese YJ-12E coastal defense missile system

 

The YJ-12B, variant used by the PLAN. Photo c/o China Military.

Indonesia was reported to have shown interest in acquiring the Chinese-made YJ-12E coastal anti-ship missile system to fulfill its requirement for a coastal defense missile capability for the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL).

The YJ-12E is the export variant of the YJ-12B used by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which in turn is the land-based variant of the YJ-12 series of supersonic anti-ship missiles.

It is capable of carrying a warhead between 250 kilograms capable of disabling a 5,000-ton ship, and has a maximum range of around 290 kilometers guided by BeiDou and updated by data-link with an active radar seeker for terminal guidance, and a maximum speed of Mach 3 during terminal flight phase.

The missiles are carried by the Wanshan WS-2600 5x5 heavy truck, with up to 3 missiles carried by the missile firing unit.

There are reports that the YJ-12E was certified by the Indonesian Navy’s Research and Development Service for possible acquisition and even local production.

Previously Indonesia announced plans to procure the Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship missile, which will include Transfer of Technology to allow for local production by Indonesian companies. 

But no forward movement were noted since the announcement, believed to be due to Ukraine now being at war with Russia since February 2022 making it difficult to export the missile.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MOD) previously made public its plans to procure coastal missile defense systems and deploy them in different parts of the country to defend against external naval threats.

Some Indonesian analysts see the interest on the Chinese-made YJ-12E as a surprise since it is regarded that the threat from China is seen as the reason why Indonesia is building its naval defense capabilities. China has overlapping claims over parts of the Natuna Island’s Exclusive Economic Zone as part their so-called 9-Dash / 10-Dash Line claims, with Chinese naval and coast guard ships occasionally seen in the area and regarded as a threat to Indonesian sovereignty.

[1] Indomiliter

[2] Yoursay Indonesia

Indonesia delays procurement of ex-Qatari Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft

A QEAF Mirage 2000-5 fighter. Photo c/o Defense Mirror.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has confirmed that it would be delaying the planned procurement of twelve refurbished Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft from Qatar.

Indonesian MOD Spokesman Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak confirmed in a TV interview that the procurement has been postponed due to budget constraints, as the funding request for the fighters was not approved by the Ministry of Finance.

Instead, the MOD will focus on upgrading the Indonesian Air Force’s (TNI-AU) existing fighter fleet which includes the American-made F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 Flanker aircraft.

Indonesia announced in June 2023 that it will be procuring at least 12 French-made Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft that were retired by the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF), composed on 9 Mirage 2000-5EDA single-seat and 3 Mirage 2000-5DDA twin-seat aircraft brokered by Czech defense company Excalibur International

The aircraft were suppose to be delivered to the TNI-AU in 2 years, and will be used to familiarize TNI-AU pilots and ground crew on French-made aircraft in preparation for the arrival of the Dassault Rafale, and fill a gap on the TNI-AU’s air defense capability due to the retirement of the F-5E/F Tiger II fleet, and the diminishing capability and quantity of its Hawk 209 light combat aircraft fleet.

The Indonesian MOD mentioned that the ex-Qatari Mirage 2000-5 still has around 70% of airframe lifespan left, but were retired early due to the introduction of new fighters by the QEAF. 

Indonesia previously made several announcements to procure new and used fighters for the TNI-AU, but so far the deal to acquire 42 brand new Dassault Rafale fighters pushed through.

Discussions are still underway for the planned procurement of F-15EX Eagle II fighters from the US, as well as the final quantity of KF-21 Boramae fighers to be procured under a joint
program with South Korea. 

[1] Reuters

[2] The Diplomat

[3] Asian Military Review