Republic of Indonesia Ship (KRI) Alugoro-405, a 209/1400-type electric diesel submarine, was officially launched in early April. The production of the third submarine built under the transfer-of-technology scheme between Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) of South Korea and state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia at the submarine production center in Surabaya, East Java, serves as an answer to the long-lasting dream of independent submarine procurement by the nation. The Jakarta Post’s correspondent Wahyoe Boediwardhana describes the ins and outs of submarine production so far in this special report.

The winding road leading to Indonesia’s independent submarine-building program began with the increasingly urgent need for submarines as part of the alutsista (strategic primary weaponry defense system) operated by the Indonesian Navy. From 1981, Indonesia practically operated only two 209/1300-type subs built in Kiel, Germany, to watch over 3 million square kilometers of Indonesian waters.

The two German-made units had to replace 12 Whiskey-class subs built by the Soviet Union, once reigning over the seas of the southern hemisphere. With the Soviet embargo following its worsening diplomatic ties with Indonesia, the 12 sophisticated postwar subs had to be phased out of service in the 1970s for want of spare parts.

Owing to the pressing need, the government in around 2007 opened a tender for the procurement of three-to-six subs with participants coming from France (Scorpene class), Germany (U214 type), Russia (Kilo class), South Korea (Changbogo class 209/1400 type) and Turkey (U214 type).

Indonesia’s submarine demand then narrowed down to the U-214 type built by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW), Germany, which was equipped with air independent propulsion (AIP) technology to make it more silent and allow it to remain submerged longer than the same electric-diesel type.

But at the same time the government was offered a soft loan from Russia worth US$1.2 billion for the procurement of several types of alutsista weaponry. Then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono planned to utilize the soft loan to procure two improved Kilo 636M subs, 20 tanks and 22 assault helicopters made in Russia.

The government was also offered a Russian grant of 10 used Kilo-class subs to fill the gap in the Indonesian Navy’s fleet. But this offer was not accepted because the government considered the cost of repair and upgrading the used subs to be too high.

Almost coincidentally, then-defense minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro signed a contract with DSME from South Korea on December 20, 2011, to build three 209/1400-type Changbogo-class electric diesel subs under the transfer-of-technology scheme worth $1.1 billion.

In line with Law No.16/2012 on the defense industry, any alutsista purchase from external parties is required to include a transfer of technology for the purpose of achieving domestic industrial independence.

“I think the idea of submarine procurement by the government and the appointment of PT PAL as the submarine-building institution constituted a form of implementation of Law No.16/2012, which assigns PT PAL Indonesia as the lead integrator of the sea alutsista to realize defense-industry independence and safeguard the secrecy of Indonesia’s alutsista,” PT PAL Indonesia shipbuilding director Turitan Indaryo told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

Under the cooperation contract between Indonesia and South Korea to build three subs, PAL experts and marine engineering academics from Surabaya’s Sepuluh Nopember Technological Institute (ITS) in East Java were involved as a specialist team to absorb the science of submarine construction from South Korea.

The choice of the 209/1400-type subs offered by South Korea was seen by Turitan as being based on specific reasons. “This choice was in conformity with the request of their user [the Navy]. I think it was based on the competitive price, commonality and the user’s familiarity with the type and dimensions,” said Turitan, which he deemed logical as the Navy had been used to operating German 209/1300-type subs since 1981.

With the official launch of KRI Alugoro-405 by Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu on April 11 in Surabaya, the Navy’s submarine list has been further extended to a record five units.

Asked why a bigger size and more sophisticated type was not chosen like the German 218SG type operated by Singapore, the Russian Kilo class operated by Vietnam or the French type operated by Australia, Turitan said the government put more emphasis on commonality than the size of the vessels.

“Besides, the type and size chosen are already very optimal for Indonesia as an archipelagic state, which demands medium-sized subs for agile maneuvers, and a large number of them,” explained Turitan.

The first-batch cooperation contract with DSME concerned the construction of three subs with technology transfers, two of which (KRI Nagapasa-403 and KRI Ardadedali-404) were jointly built in South Korea and the third (Alugoro) being produced in Indonesia.

These jointly built subs are 61.3 meters long with a capacity of 40 crew members and a cruising period of 50 days. The Nagapasa class is equipped with four MTU-12V493 diesel engines with a maximum diving speed of 21.5 knots, a maximum speed of 11 knots on the surface, and a cruising range of 18,520 km

Designed to have a lifetime of 30 years, the subs, weighing 1,460 tons on the surface and 1,596 tons when submerged, can accommodate elite Navy teams to support their operational functions.

Technically, according to Turitan, the capacity and capability of the Navy’s Nagapasa class are equal to those of German-made subs of the same type. This is because of the fact that at the same time PAL was also overhauling German-made units at its submarine shipyard.

Questioned if the subs already built are sufficient to produce a deterrent effect and able to safeguard Indonesian waters, he pointed out that such an important aspect was why Indonesia sought the technology-transfer capability.

“We no longer only buy but are also able to build subs ourselves, which will significantly increase the deterrent effect and further enhance the capability to protect Indonesia’s territorial waters,” he said, emphasizing the fact that Indonesia was the only nation in Southeast Asia with such submarine-construction knowhow.

Although the medium-sized subs produced do not belong to the latest type, the government has asked that the Navy’s subs be furnished with specific systems to make them highly reliable.

These include the Combat Management System (CMS) of MSI-90UMk-2 made by Kongsberg Defense System, Norway, and the Flank Array Sonar detection system along the submarine flank for more extensive functioning. The same sonar system is also used by the Scorpene-class subs of Malaysia.

According to indomiliter.com, the home-produced subs also have the Aries-Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) radar made by Spanish radar developer Indra. The Indra radar applies a signal detection system and LPI technology with a high resolution capable of detecting small targets on the surface. Its low transmission signals mean it is almost undetected by radars so that Indonesian subs can “see without being seen”.

This electronic defense system includes the Radar Electronic Support Measurement (RESM) system based on digital reception broadband technology, which guarantees high sensitivity even in a dense electromagnetic environment and very fast analysis.

The other advantage of this radar is its modular design, which makes upgrading and repair easier. The Integrated Navigation System (INS) for the Nagapasa class is made by SAGEM from France, with its Optronic periscope produced by Cassidian (SERO 250).

For their primary weapons, the Navy’s three subs are fitted with eight launchers for 533-millimeter torpedoes, which also serve to launch various projectiles from sea mines and surface and underwater torpedoes (SUT) to heavyweight Black Shark torpedoes made by the Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS), part of Finmeccanica in Italy.

Meanwhile, Fleet Command II chief spokesman Lieut. Col. Djawara Heny Twies Whimbo said Nagapasa had succeeded in carrying out its Black Shark torpedo-firing test on March 30 in Celukan Bawang waters, northern Bali.

Defense Ministry secretary general Vice Admiral Widodo, as quoted from janes.com in August 2017, said Indonesia would acquire the Italian-made Black Shark torpedoes to complement the armaments of the new Indonesian built subs.

With full-stealth capacity, the torpedoes are ideal for hitting targets in shallow waters. Weighing 1.5 tons, they have a long range of 50 km at a maximum speed of 50 knots. But the missiles’ speed can also be increased to 52 knots to strike a target 22 km away and their range extended to 90 km by reducing the speed to 12 knots.

While being prepared for the Black Shark torpedoes, the Nagapasa-class subs have been able to fire UGM-84 Harpoon missiles, antisurface-ship projectiles produced by Boeing Defense. Such abilities are also seen by Turitan as generating a deterrent effect on other countries trying to violate Indonesia’s sovereignty.

Minister Ryamizard, one day after inaugurating Alugoro, signed a contract for the procurement of three more units of the same type under cooperation between DSME and PAL worth $1.2 billion, in Bandung. These subs are expected to be ready within 77 months.

The government’s target for the Navy is the possession of at least 12 subs to reinforce the country’s undersea capability pursuant to the minimum essential force (MEF). This seems to reflect the desire to repeat the Navy’s undersea supremacy in the 1960s.

“The government focuses on domestic submarine production. The practice of submarine building through cooperation by ordering three units from South Korea will be further studied and improved,” said Ryamizard after launching Alugoro in Surabaya.

The fourth submarine construction will follow the technology-transfer scheme of the third while the fifth and sixth units will be built by PAL in its shipyard in Surabaya.

PAL’s cooperation with South Korea instead of Germany in building the subs is largely a result of Indonesia’s free and active policy, preferring not to work with superpowers or the NATO group. “We’ve had a bitter experience of being embargoed so we prefer a country with a command of submarine technology in Asia,” said Turitan.

PAL expects to gain advantages from the 209/1400-type submarine development program. Through the execution of training of trainers (ToT) and on job training (OJT), PAL has created national working standards and a reference for independent submarine construction in the future.

The other advantage is that PAL, following the operation of submarine shipyard facilities, can now handle submarine maintenance.

This is remunerative, as indicated by Turitan the cost of an overhaul could be $40 to 50 million. “That’s for a minor overhaul, a major one like cutting may amount to $75 million,” he added.

For the future, the road map of Indonesia’s submarine development operated by PAL will be divided into four phases, which are joint section, joint production and maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO), whole local production and commercial to international market.

“We have strong expectations that someday Indonesia will be able to export submarines as our national products, as we have proven with the export of surface warships,” concluded Turitan.

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