Construction of two new Scorpène-class submarines have begun in Indonesia, according to reports. State-owned ship builder PT PAL has begun the construction in collaboration with French defense company Naval Group.
Scorpène-class submarines are reportedly stealthy and can carry different types of weapons. Powerful and enduring, these submarines set the international benchmark for conventional submarines. It can conduct combat operations against surface ships and submarines, and offer intelligence gathering.
Indonesian Scorpène submarines will use same steel as French attack submarines
The company revealed that the future Indonesian Scorpène submarines will use the same steel as French attack submarines. This steel requires special parameters, particularly for welding: there are numerous inspection stages, and acceptance criteria are extremely strict to achieve a flawless weld. To meet the challenge, twenty Indonesians from PT PAL underwent two to three months of training in Cherbourg on welding, preheating and quality control, taught by the best experts in the field.
The Indonesian Scorpène Evolved features a number of innovations, including a new engine system and lithium-ion batteries. It also incorporates the Subtics combat system.
Three months ago Naval Group revealed that the agreement between the Indonesian Ministry of Defence and the Naval Group–PT PAL consortium ensures optimal collaboration.
With a team of eight experts currently (rising to fifty), all acting as reference operators, Naval Group provides skills transfer and continuous technical support. To strengthen collaboration, French–Indonesian pairs have been formed. Learning the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia, is also part of the French team’s program, as linguistic proximity has already proven effective with other international partners.
The company also revealed that the vessel’s control system, or platform management system (PMS), is central to the submarine’s operation. Included in the Distributed Digital Systems (DDiS) program package, the control system supervises and manages installations in the fields of energy, propulsion, diving safety and auxiliary systems. The control system receives information and controls the installations of these systems via the various programmable logic controllers (PLCs) distributed throughout the vessel – around ten on the Scorpène. The PMS supports the submarine’s systems by centralizing the data it receives and sending information back to the PLCs.
With its full lithium-ion battery configuration, the submarine will have a mission endurance of up to 80 days. The submarine will be able to carry a mixed load of up to 18 heavyweight torpedoes and SM39 Exocet missiles. Naval Group confirmed that Scorpène Evolved will be able to fire the next-generation submarine-launched Exocet, the SM40, which MBDA is currently developing, reported Naval News.
Indonesia views the programme as a stepping stone towards long-term submarine self-reliance. National plans envisage developing the capability to design, build and eventually export indigenous submarines during the 2040s.
PT PAL and Naval Group have also discussed the possibility of making Indonesia a regional production and maintenance hub for future Scorpène operators. Indonesia’s selection of the Scorpène Evolved marks the first export order for the lithium-ion battery variant of the Scorpène family.
