February 6 2012, Surabaya: The capabilities of Indonesian submarines are now on par with those fielded by neighboring countries after undergoing an overhaul in South Korea, Navy chief of staff Adm. Soeparno said Monday.
He was speaking at a ceremony welcoming the return of KRI Nanggala 402, which had been undergoing an overhaul process for the past 24 months by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in Busan, South Korea.
Made in 1981 by German shipbuilder Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in Kiel, the Type 209/1300 KRI Nanggala was the second submarine after being overhauled at DSME facilities after KRI Cakra 401 was overhauled in 2006.
“With the completion of the overhaul, now the capabilities of our submarines are on par with submarines deployed by our neighbors,” Soeparno told reporters after the ceremony at the Navy Eastern Fleet Command pier in Surabaya.
Malaysia has two French-made Scorpene class submarines. Singapore operates four Challenger-class submarines and two Archer-class submarines that were acquired from the Swedish Navy. Australia operates six Collins-class submarines that were built under cooperation with Sweden. Australia will modernize its submarine fleet by building 12 new larger submarines still in cooperation with Sweden. Vietnam will begin to receive four Russian-made Kilo class submarines from 2015.
During the overhaul process, KRI Nanggala was undergoing a retrofit, including replacing the upper structure from bow to stern, some parts of the propulsion system, sonar, radar, weapons system and combat management system (CMS).
KRI Nanggala can now submerge to a depth of 257-meters with a top speed of 25 knots, increasing from 21.5 knots.
Commanded by Lt. Col. Purwanto, the submarine has a complement of 50 personnel, including a special force unit for infiltration.
The implementation of the latest CMS allows the submarine to simultaneously fire four wire-guided surface underwater torpedoes (SUTs) in a salvo at four different targets. The 1,395-ton submarine can also fire eight torpedoes at the same time if needed. The CMS upgrade also allows the submarine to launch sub-missiles at surface or air targets.
“There are several types of missiles that can be launched, including Harpoon, Exocet, SUT or other types,” said Col. Tunggul Suropati, former taskforce chief from the Cakra-Nanggala overhaul in South Korea.
The Defense Ministry and DSME had signed a contract to procure three submarines worth about US$1.1 billion. The first two submarines will be manufactured in Busan, while the third at state shipyard PT PAL facilities in Surabaya through a transfer-of-technology mechanism. Indonesian engineers will also be involved in the production of the first two submarines.
Source: the Jakarta Post
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