VESSEL REVIEW | Panah – Indonesian Navy acquires two locally-built fast attack craft

The Indonesian Navy recently commissioned two new fast attack craft into service.

Built at the Surabaya facilities of state-owned PAL Indonesia, KRI Kapak ("Axe") and KRI Panah ("Arrow") are the fifth and sixth fast attack craft belonging to the Sampari-class, of which 18 vessels are planned. Each craft has a length of 60.3 metres, a beam of 8.1 metres, a displacement of 460 tonnes, a hull with steel and aluminium segments, and accommodations for 55 crewmembers.

The hull form guarantees improved stability in addition to generating a smaller radar cross-section compared to vessels of similar size. The vessels are capable of cruising under Sea State Six conditions while weapons employment can be performed in conditions of up to Sea State Four.

The Sampari-class boats were designed to be capable of anti-surface warfare, hence the installation of armament including a BAE Systems Bofors 57mm rapid fire naval gun, two Yugoimport–SDPR 20mm autocannon, and up to four MBDA Exocet anti-ship missiles housed in two twin launchers. PAL said live fire tests conducted with the aid of small drones proved that the vessels' naval gun armament is also capable of accurately striking airborne targets at altitudes of up to 300 metres above sea level.

Terma supplied the boats with 130mm decoy launch systems and essential systems consisting of X-band search radars, electro-optic fire control systems, and a combat management system. Teledyne Defence and Space meanwhile installed tactical threat warning systems. The other electronics include a DGPS and displays from Simrad.

Each vessel is powered by two MTU 20V4000M73L that each produce 3,600 kW. This arrangement delivers a top speed of 30 knots and a range of 2,400 nautical miles. Sea trials showed that an average speed of 29.1 knots can be achieved at 100 per cent MCR, which PAL said is a higher speed than what was stipulated in the navy contract.

Kapak and Panah will be assigned to the Indonesian Navy's Fleet Command III, which is responsible for the security of Indonesia's eastern maritime territory. The craft are also capable of conducting search and rescue missions if needed.

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