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Indonesian-made frigate to be launched in 2024: Defense minister
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto unveils the development of the Merah Putih Frigate in Surabaya that will be launched in 2024.
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Artist impression of British warship Arrowhead 140 designed by Babcock International. The Arrowhead 140 design is also used by the Indonesian Navy for its Fregat Merah Putih (Red and White Frigate) being constructed at state-owned shipyard PT PAL Indonesia. (Courtesy of Babcock International/-)
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efense Minister Prabowo Subianto revealed that the Defense Ministry was currently constructing a frigate in Surabaya, which is set to be officially launched in 2024.
"You must know what the defense industry is doing; we are now going to produce our own Indonesian-made warships," he said at the C-Tra Arena Sports Hall in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Prabowo was speaking during the 2023 working meeting of the West Java chapter of the All-Indonesia Village Administration Association (Apdesi).
The first frigate built in Indonesia, according to Prabowo, is to be named the Merah Putih (Red and White) Frigate.
However, he did not provide detailed information about the frigate type or the budget allocated for its construction, which is currently being built at state-owned shipyard PT PAL Indonesia.
"It [the frigate ship] has already started to be built in Surabaya, the frigate is named the Merah Putih Frigate project, the first frigate built in Indonesia and next year this Indonesian-made frigate will be launched," said Prabowo.
Construction for the first frigate started on Dec. 9, 2022, with the first steel cutting ceremony, while the keel laying ceremony was held on Aug. 25 of this year, PAL said on its website.
