TEMPO.CO, Surabaya - PT PAL is set to produce three frigates (PKR-105) in tandem with the Netherlands' Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS). Navy’s chief of staff Admiral Marsetio said the frigates would be constructed together with DSNS through a scheme of technology transfer.
The PKR-105 frigate is designed to be 105-meter-long and equipped with missile interceptors, torpedoes, and other electronic warfare devices. The US$220 million ship will also don a torpedo-carrying chopper.
Marsetio said that a unit of PKR-105 had six modules, four of which were assembled in Surabaya while the rest in Vlisingen, the Netherlands. The admiral added the modules would be completed by March 2015. "The three frigates will help secure the Indonesian waters," he said.
Dutch ambassador to Indonesia Tjeerd F. de Zwaan said the Dutch government would support the transfer of technology, adding that Indonesia needed to revitalize its warship industry due to its geographical trait as as coastal nation.
As for the transfer of technology program, the CEO of PT PAL, Firmansyah Arifin, said he had sent 75 technicians to the Netherlands.
DIANANTA P. SUMEDI
