JAKARTA: State-owned shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia has started preproduction for Scorpene Evolved diesel attack submarines in cooperation with French naval defence manufacturer Naval Group, to strengthen the Indonesian Navy's operational capabilities and bolster maritime deterrence in South-East Asian waters.
The preproduction stage involved technical preparations prior to commencing main production, PAL said in a press release on Tuesday (May 26).
The current stage consists of finalising the design, setting up production systems, developing human resources and ensuring infrastructure readiness so the construction phase proceeds according to target and international quality standards.
“The construction of Scorpene Evolved submarines is an important milestone for the national defense industry,” PAL president director Kaharuddin Djenod said, as quoted in the press release.
“Indonesia is the first country in Asean that can build its own submarines, including the development of Scorpene Evolved with Advanced and Improved Propulsion [technology].”
He also noted that amid the rise of great power rivalries in Asean, possessing a strong defence industry meant Indonesia had a strategic bargaining chip in maintaining stability in the region and bolstering the country’s position as a leading maritime state.
Meanwhile, Naval Group programme director Vincent Vimont said the collaboration with PAL was an important part in developing a sustainable Indonesian defense industry.
“By partnering with Naval Group in an ambitious transfer of skills, Indonesia aims to improve the local economy and strengthen the capabilities of its industrial ecosystem,” he said, as quoted in the release.
The fabrication process is slated to begin in June.
On Dec 12, 2025, PAL and Naval Group conducted the Steel Cutting Qualification Section as a crucial stage in developing the production workforce for the Scorpene Evolved submarine.
The training was designed to test the capabilities of PAL engineers on their readiness to enter the independent submarine production era. These included testing manufacturing capabilities from precision welding and blasting to painting and preoutfitting
Their work will be assessed by Naval Group, and their qualification is a requisite construction can proceed on the submarines.
PAL technology director Briljan Gazalba said at the time that the qualification section was fundamental to the transfer of submarine technology, describing it as “a foundation for Indonesia to master submarine technology independently”.
“Through this partnership [with Naval Group], Indonesia is entering a crucial phase towards achieving independence in underwater defense with global competitiveness,” he added.
Vimont emphasised Naval Group’s commitment to supporting whole local production in Indonesia.
“This first steel cutting is a long-anticipated moment. This marks the start of production for Indonesia’s Scorpene submarine program, made in Indonesia, by Indonesia and for Indonesia,” he said.
Prior to the steel cutting qualification section, PAL sent its engineers to join a three-month training program at Naval Group’s Cherbourg shipyard in northwestern France, where they honed their skills in submarine welding.
The programme aimed to ready and qualify the PAL team for producing the pilot hull subsection as part of early stage construction in the Scorpene Evolved project, and was followed by the qualification section for evaluating the skills and knowledge they developed in France.
This demonstration method used in the qualification section is a proven standard of skills transfers, and was used by Naval Group in Brazil to build the Riachuelo-class submarine, a larger version of the Scorpene to accommodate more batteries.
Evolved version Initially, Naval Group offered Indonesia with a deal worth 2.16 billion euros (US$2.51 billion) for two Scorpene submarines equipped with lead acid batteries, which had a maximum endurance of 50 days.
The latest contract signed on March 28, 2024, however, specifies two Scorpene Evolved using lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which have a maximum endurance of 80 days for the same price tag.
According to Naval Group, submarines with Li-ion batteries is better suited for the Indonesian Navy considering its vast deployment area, which covers the country’s territorial waters as well as exclusive economic zone.
While most conventional submarines are equipped with lead-acid batteries, more advanced designs use the fuel cell-based air independent propulsion (AIP) system to augment battery power.
The group’s submarine marketing director, Anthony Covarrubias, said submarines equipped with fuel cell-based AIP systems was suitable only for naval use in shallow waters and small maritime areas, such as Germany in the North Sea, Sweden in the Baltic Sea and Singapore.
“The AIP, however, is a very complicated technology with dangerous chemicals and a lot of logistics to be prepared,” Covarrubias told a press conference in Jakarta on Oct 3, 2023.
“You have to store oxygen and hydrogen tanks, which take up to 10 per cent of the submarine weight and about 12 per cent of the volume.”
Covarrubias added that batteries needed to be replaced every 6 years and lead acid batteries needed replacing every eight years, while lithium-ion batteries could last 10 to 12 years before they needed to be replaced.
Furthermore, Li-ion batteries offered the right balance of performance and safety with a usable capacity of between 5 and 95 per cent, whereas lead acid batteries only ranged from 20 to 80 per cent, he explained.
According to Covarubias, the Scorpene Evolved is a credible maritime deterrence, as it is equipped with 6 533-mm torpedo tubes for launching Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes, SM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles and A3SM MICA anti-air missiles, as well as Naval Group’s F21 heavyweight dual-use torpedo for targeting both surface vessels and submarines.
The Indonesian Scorpene measures 71m long with a 6.2-metre beam and a 5.8-metre draft, according to a press release from the Defence Ministry issued on March 4, 2024.
Powered by an MTU 4000 series diesel engine, the submarine has a top speed of 20 knots (37 kilometres per hour/kph). Its maximum surface range at a speed of 8 knots is 6,500 nautical miles (nm), or 12,000 km, while the maximum submerged range is 550 nm at 5 knots with a dive depth of 300m.
Brazil, Chile, India and Malaysia are among the other countries already operating Scorpene submarines of various variants. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
