Indonesia moves forward with talks for three more Type 209 submarines

A model of an Indonesian Type 209/1400 submarine on display at Indo Defence 2018. (IHS Markit/Ridzwan Rahmat)

Officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Defence are currently in negotiations with state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL and South Korean company Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) for a follow-on order of three Type 209/1400 diesel-electric submarines.

A series of verifications carried out by Jane’s since early January 2019 with multiple industry and government sources has confirmed that the negotiations pertain to workshare arrangements that can be undertaken for each vessel and South Korean defence credit programmes that can be utilised to fund the acquisition.

Should it materialise, the contract, which includes a support and training package across all three submarines, is expected to be worth approximately USD1.2 billion.

Indonesia signed a USD1.1 billion deal for three Type 209/1400 submarines with DSME in December 2011. Two boats under the contract have been delivered, while a third vessel is currently awaiting launch at PT PAL’s premises in Surabaya. The first submarine was commissioned in August 2017 as KRI Nagapasa (403).

As indicated in initial points of discussion seen by Jane’s , the first boat that will be in the follow-on contract, which will be the fourth vessel in Indonesia’s Nagapasa class overall, will be assembled at DSME’s facilities in Okpo, South Korea. However, PT PAL will construct two of the boat’s six modules in Surabaya, while DSME will build the remaining four in South Korea. Once ready the Indonesian-built modules will be shipped to Okpo for assembly.