• Forum
• SITREP

• Military

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space
• Public Eye

Further Reading

ALRI - Navy of the Republic of Indonesia - Modernization

The Navy was initially stocked primarily with craft once operated by European or the Australian navies. Beginning in 1959, the navy began to acquire a large number of craft from the Soviet Union and East European nations. In the aftermath of the abortive 1965 coup, however, the navy suffered a decline in influence within the armed forces and the nation because of suspected involvement in the coup attempt (particularly by the marine corps) and because of its small size in comparison with the army. A large portion of its vessels of Soviet or East European origin were quickly rendered non-operational owing to a lack of spare parts and maintenance expertise.

During the period of confrontation, the Indonesian naval capability increased in quality and quantity. The fleet was strengthened by acquisitions from Russia including cruisers, destroyers, frigates, fast attack missile craft and submarines. The Marine Corps was also reinforced by armoured and amphibious vehicles, and naval aviation with ASW helicopters and bombers (IL28). In 1970, after the severing of diplomatic ties with Russia, which created problems maintaining the Russian ships, TNI-AL obtained an ex-US Navy destroyer escort, and an ex-RAN fast attack craft (K-16M class) to replace the ex-Russian vessels.

Until the late 1970s, the only major replacements were four frigates acquired from the United States Navy in 1974. Since that time, the navy embarked on an upgrading program designed to develop a balanced fleet suited to operations in archipelagic waters. Over the 1978-92 period, it purchased submarines from the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), light frigates from the Netherlands and Britain, and fast attack craft from the Republic of Korea (South Korea). In 1992 the Indonesian government announced plans to acquire thirty-nine used ships of various types from the navy of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The navy produced numerous small coastal craft in national shipyards as well. As of 1992, the fleet was composed of more than sixty ships and numerous smaller vessels.

Whereas the 1970s saw an increase in the fleet's ship inventory, the 1980s witnessed a major effort to improve the navy's armament posture through the purchase of the Harpoon weapons system and the MK-46 torpedo. The 1990s were expected to be largely a period of consolidation and training.

Because of severe budgetary constraints imposed by the national government, no near-term acquisition of major new weapons systems was planned by the navy in the early 1990s. Continual overhaul of foreign-origin ships was perceived as the primary method to retain an operational fleet. Future projects included plans for an Indonesian-designed frigate and construction of a major naval base at Ratai Bay, Lampung Province. The immense costs involved, however, made achievement of these ambitious goals unlikely.

Since 2001, Indonesia has begun a more extensive modernization of their navy, with the goal of developing an effective, formidable green-water fleet able to protect Indonesia's territorial waters, and a strong commercial fleet to improve Indonesia's international trade. The Indonesian Navy's current strategic planning is known as Navy Blueprint 2013, or TNI-AL Blueprint 2004-2013. This is divided into three phases of which the first runs from 2003-07. In addition to building a formidable navy, Indonesia's current strategic planning aims ensure that the Indonesian navy is technologically equal or superior to the naval forces of its neighboring countries. Navy Blueprint 2013 also requires a force level of eight submarines.

Indonesia's capacity to enforce order in its waters has been stretched by lack of funding and poor maintenance of its ships. This is an issue for the Indonesian navy that cannot necessarily be resolved by modernization of technology and armament. According to Indonesian defense minister Juwono Sudarsono, as of 2006 only 60 percent of Indonesia's fleet of 124 ships was operational. By contrast, the chief of staff of the Indonesian navy, Admiral Slamet Soebijanto, estimates that at least 302 ships and 170 aircraft are required to protect Indonesia's archipelago of seventeen thousand islands. Although Indonesia is acquiring new patrol boats, it has asked the United States for military assistance in the form of training and support in order to build its enforcement capacity. Indonesia has stressed, however, that foreign military presence is out of the question.

In 2008, Indonesia gradually began to install seven radars provided by the US in the Makassar Strait to support security efforts in the major sea lane. Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono stated the installation of seven radars is meant to support ASEAN maritime defense and security. The US previously provided Indonesia with five surveillance radars that were set up along the Malacca Strait to support security.

Indonesia has been busy modernising its maritime forces and unveiled plans to procure eight corvettes, three landing ship tanks, and four fast patrol craft for counter-piracy operations. Indonesia has ordered four corvettes; based on the Sigma 9113 design and all are to be built in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. The first of the Sigma-class corvettes ordered in 2004 and 2005, KRI Diponegoro was commissioned on July 2, 2007 by Indonesian Navy Chief Staff Admiral Slamet Soebijanto. The second, KRI Hasanuddin, was commissioned on Nov 24, 2007.

Starting in 2005 Indonesia began to buy more modern patrol craft. Indonesia plans to buy up to 60 modern patrol vessels over the next decade to strengthen maritime security and catch up with its technologically advanced regional counterparts. Indonesia's navy had a fleet of 129 patrol vessels before 2005. The Navy had acquired 13 new vessels since 2003 and has budgeted to buy at least five to six new boats each year.

In January 2009 the Indonesian Navy launched two new, locally made patrol vessels as part of ongoing attempts to bolster and upgrade its aging fleet. The vessels, KRI Krait-827 and KRI Tarihu-829, are operated by the Western Fleet Command, based in Jakarta. The ships, measuring 40 meters in length and 7.3 meters wide, were each equipped with a radar system, a twin-barreled cannon and two 12.7 mm machine guns. Each had a maximum speed of 25 knots per hour. Including the latest two vessels, the Indonesian Navy has a total of 146 warships.

Indonesia received the corvettes KRI Diponegoro-365 and KRI Hasanuddin in 2007. In 2008, Indonesia received their third new corvette, the KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda. The fourth, KRI Frans Kaisiepo, was received and added to the Indonesian fleet in March 2009.

PT PAL had worked with Demen Schelde Netherlands Shipyard (DSNS) in building a destroyer escort warship ordered by the Defense Ministry in August 2010. The $220 million warship is 104 meters in length and runs on four engines. It is equipped with censor devices and armed with missiles. PT PAL expected to deliver the ship in August 2014.