State-owned ship builder PT PAL Indonesia has cooperated with PT Lundin Industry Invest, more popular as North Sea Boats, and Norwegian company Kongsberg to develop Light Attack Ship (KSR). The three companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on November 3, 2022, during 2022 Indo Defence Expo and Forum.
PT PAL is also cooperating with French company Naval Group in the field of research and development of technology for submarines and start with developing submarine batteries. The two companies signed the MoU on November 2, 2022.
A subsidiary of PT Len Industri, PT PAL was established in 1980. The company specializes in building warships and merchant ships. It also provides ship management services, vessel manning & chartering, shipping agents and ship maintenance planning. The company has exported 45 units of ships, both warships and merchant ships. It also produced a total of 282 energy and electrification products such as Barge Mounted Power Plants, Wellhead Platforms and others.
Developing light attack ship
As a lead integrator, PT PAL is cooperating with Lundin and Kongsberg. Lundin is a shipbuilding company that specializes in building craft for military, law enforcement, SAR, commercial and high-performance applications. Kongsberg is a technology company that supplies high-technology systems to customers in the merchant marine, defense, aerospace, offshore oil and gas industries, and renewable and utility industries. The cooperation will focus on the integration of systems, sensors and weaponry on the Light Attack Ships.
The signing of the MoU was carried out by PT PAL CEO Kaharuddin Djenod while Kongsberg was represented by Frank Tveiten as Vice President of Naval Systems and Lundin was represented by CEO John Lundin. The MoU was signed onboard the Indonesian military hospital ship, dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo-991, a product of PT PAL.
“The collaboration among the three companies on the KSR or Light Attack Ship, which has a displacement of 33 tons, will make a product that is expected to be a breakthrough for Indonesia’s maritime defense. The ship will have a length of about 20 meters but having strong weapon capabilities. So this KSR will be at the forefront of the overall maritime strategy,” Djenod said.
Developing submarine battery
PT PAL and Naval Group – a defense company that specializes in naval defense design, development, and construction – has built a cooperation, which consists of the creation of the Indonesian Energy Research Lab. This lab is to develop the next generation of submarine energy solutions in Indonesia. The cooperation is planned to bring together industry and research partners as well as universities. The collaboration between PT PAL and Naval Group began with building lithium battery technology for submarines.
Djenod and Naval Vice President of India, Asia, & Pacific Nicolas de La Villemarque signed the MoU, on the sideline of the Indo Defense.
“We all know that Naval Group is a leading company in the world, which has leading defense equipment products, especially Scorpene submarines. So this strategic cooperation will provide added value for Indonesia, especially for PAL in mastering defense technology. In the future, with the trust of the government, Indonesia will have the ability to be equivalent to developed countries in the construction technology of submarines independently, not only limited to one type of submarine,” Djenod said.
Modernizing security and defense systems
At the start of 2022, the government has allocated US$ 9.3 billion to its total defense budget. Globaldata forecast the country’s defense budget is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of more than 6% over the forecast period of 2022 – 2027.
The Indonesian defense budget is currently being driven by the government’s efforts to modernize its armed forces and build its indigenous defense sector and ongoing territorial disputes with neighboring countries.
