Indonesian Navy Delegation Gets Up-Close Look at India’s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant at MILAN 2024

Recently, officials from the Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut, TNI-AL) and other delegations attending MILAN 2024 had the unique opportunity to board India’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. This landmark event not only showcased India’s naval prowess but also highlighted the spirit of maritime cooperation and friendship between the two nations.

INS Vikrant stands as a symbol of India’s growing maritime capabilities and its commitment to bolstering naval power in the Indo-Pacific region. As the largest warship ever built in India, INS Vikrant represents a significant milestone in the country’s defense modernization efforts and indigenous shipbuilding capabilities.

During the visit, attendees were treated to a mesmerizing display of naval aviation as a diverse array of aircraft lined the flight deck. Among the notable aircraft on display were the formidable Mig-29K fighter jets, the versatile Alouette III helicopters, the reconnaissance-oriented Kamov Ka-31, the stalwart SH-3 Sea King, the state-of-the-art MH-60R helicopters, and the indigenous HAL Dhruv.

Each aircraft showcased on the flight deck of INS Vikrant represents a unique aspect of naval aviation, ranging from combat operations and reconnaissance to search and rescue missions. The presence of such a diverse fleet underscores India’s commitment to maintaining air superiority and maritime security in the region.

The visit also served as a platform for fostering closer ties and collaboration between the Indian and Indonesian navies. As two maritime nations with shared interests and challenges, India and Indonesia have increasingly sought to enhance maritime cooperation in areas such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, disaster response, and joint exercises.

 

[desigandu]

Good, can India's Cochin Shipyard not only build IAC-2 (next one like Vikrant) but also start building after approvals (4-6) 30,000 Ton Amphibious Assault Ships...Could India help build a small carrier for Indonesia, which has a large maritime boundary and could project power in IOR, Pacific...India should strive for deeper and enhanced military cooperation/partnership (not necessarily like a treaty ally, though I question why not in due course) with some countries...Geopolitics is a long term game and we should think ahead.

 

[Anant]

While the Indonesians would undoubtedly benefit from having a small carrier, it is simply beyond their means for the time being. The Indonesian Navy operates five Makassar-class LPDs plus three small derivatives which have been configured as hospital ships. Those ships give them fairly sufficient coverage over their maritime boundary.

However, the place where they arr most in trouble is with their surface fleet. Here is how:

1. Of the seven frigates that Indonesia operates, five are of the Van Speijk-class, which date back to the 1960s and are license-built versions of the Leander-class frigates. For reference, we built the Leanders under license as the first Nilgiri-class. The Indonesians have some plans to replace these ships with six FREMMs, two Type 31s, and two Maestrale-class frigates (with the excess numbers replacing a bunch of corvettes), but they are facing the financial crunch of doing so.

2. Of their 25 corvettes, 17 are over 35 years old, and 15 of those are over 40 years old. These ships are a mix of ex-East German Parchim-class corvettes and the 1970s Fatahillah-class. All of these ships are well past their relevance, and replacements are not particularly forthcoming, except if the frigate acquisition programs work out and the South Koreans end up donating the three Pohang-class corvettes they are offering.

3. Indonesia does have a good fleet of OPVs (21 modern + 2 antiquated) and attack craft (32 modern + 15 antiquated), but the attack craft are not particularly well suited for maritime patrol. Even so, there are some 15 attack craft that are over 30 years old and should have been decommissioned by now.

4. Indonesia's mine warfare vessels are also somewhat obsolescent. Of the nine such vessels they have, 5 are over 50 years old (therefore well past their retirement point), and a further two are over 35 years old (hence approaching retirement), with only two modern vessels.

5. When it comes to submarines, Indonesia's three Type 209-1400 boats are relatively modern (having entered service in 2017, 2018, and 2021), but the fourth boat, a Tupe 209-1300 (the Cakra) is quite obsolete, having entered service back in 1981. Add to that the fact that the other Type 209-1300, the Nanggala was lost at sea with all hands in 2021, and Cakra is basically a harbour boat now. Still, the Indonesians do have plans to buy another 2-3 submarines.

6. Indonesia's amphibious landing ships are also almost at retirement. They have 9 modern LSTs, plus another 15 older ships. Of those 15, 14 are over 40 years old, and therefore at the point of retirement, with the 15th ship dating all the way back to 1961. Again, they are unable to replace these ships on a one-to-one basis.

7. The auxiliaries are mostly in good shape with a few exceptions. Even so, with the exception of their tugboat fleet (where 12 out of 14 ships are at or near the point of retirement), the rest of the fleet still has a few years left in it.

The problem that the Indonesian Navy is facing is that they can't replace all of the ships needing replacement due to funding crunches. They bought a very large number of second-hand ships from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s on the cheap. This, in fact, included over two-thirds of East Germany's Navy in the 1990s. Now, all those ships are causing a block obsolescence issue for the bulk of Indonesia's Navy, and they do not have the money to replace them all. In such a scenario, a carrier is out of the question.

However, there has been some speculation that once the first of the San Giorgio-class LHDs is retired, the ship may be sold to Indonesia (assuming it is in good shape). That decommissioning should happen in 2025-27. The five LPDs, plus one LHD (and possibly the second San Giorgio-class LHD excluding the unmodified San Giusto) in Indonesian hands would give them a fairly good fleet for about two decades or so, at which point they can start considering a mid-sized carrier.

 

[Sandeep]

India should definitely offer to build them naval ships at a much cheaper price compared to other countries. By now India has got enough experience in designing and developing a range of ships ranging from small patrol boats, corvettes, frigate, destroyers, submarine and carriers. India should capitalise and advertise to these small countries.

 

[Anant]

India should definitely offer to build them naval ships at a much cheaper price compared to other countries. By now India has got enough experience in designing and developing a range of ships ranging from small patrol boats, corvettes, frigate, destroyers, submarine and carriers. India should capitalise and advertise to these small countries.

Not happening. Firstly, our shipyards are still fairly inefficiencies in many ways, and this is evidenced by the timeframe of ship construction. Granted, Parr of the reason for such long construction times is the fact that a lot of critical equipment has to be imported, but that doesn't help with export sales.

Secondly, we don't exactly build ships on the cheap. A lot of our ships are roughly competitive with international shipyards on cost. What tends to happen is that whatever money we save through labour costs and the like is lost in importing equipment (thanks to higher margins there for the OEMs).

Moreover, we still don't have enough excess shipyard capacity for export orders. Our large shipyards are already building multiple ships, and they have near-full medium-term order books. There are some newer shipyards slowly coming up, and these can arguably cater to export orders, but that is still a few years away.