PT PAL Indonesia together with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (Kemhan) successfully carried out the keel laying or laying of the keel of the 2nd Merah Putih Frigate. Keel laying is the stage of laying the main construction of the ship’s body structure and is the initial calculation of the age of a ship.
Held at the Submarine hangar facility of the Submarine Division of PT PAL Indonesia, the keel laying ceremony of the 2nd Merah Putih Frigate was led by the Expert Staff for Economic Affairs of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (Kemhan), Major General TNI Steverly C. Parengkuan. The event was attended by high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense and the Indonesian Navy Headquarters, the Commander of the Merah Putih Frigate Construction Task Force, as well as the Board of Directors, Board of Commissioners, and Management of PT PAL Indonesia.
The implementation of the keel laying was marked by the placement of coins on the block stand of the 2nd Merah Putih Frigate, followed by the signing of the keel laying minutes by the Expert Staff for Economic Affairs of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Major General TNI Steverly C. Parengkuan and the Director of Production of PT PAL Indonesia, Satriyo Bintoro. Also witnessing this momentum were Independent Commissioner of PT PAL Indonesia, Cut Meutia Andrina, Director of Operations of PT LEN Industri (Persero) Tazar Marta Kurniawan, Waaslog Kasal, Commander of the Merah Putih Frigate Task Force, and Head of the Merah Putih Frigate Project.
Satriyo Bintoro said the keel laying process of this frigate has met SOLAS regulations. Where for the keel laying stage, the weight of the block that has completed the assembly process is required to be at least 50 tons or 1% of the total construction weight of approximately 2,778 tons. Furthermore, he said that the implementation of the keel laying of the 2nd Red and White Frigate was carried out faster than the specified schedule, namely in March 2025. This shows that the progress of the construction of the 2nd Red and White Frigate recorded a positive deviation.
Satrio added that the Frigate ship will later be equipped with a combat management system, which is the heart of the ship’s combat capabilities, integrated with various sensors, weapons, and communication systems allowing the ship to provide optimal combat effectiveness, allowing the ship to detect and track targets quickly and accurately, so that the ability can be more optimal to neutralize threats.
” This ship is designed with 4 Dimension Combat Capabilities including Surface to Surface Warfare [Surface to Surface Ships], Surface to Air Warfare [Air Attack], Surface to Submarine Warfare [Submarine Attack], and Electronic Warfare [Electronic Warfare],” he explained.
The 2nd Merah Putih Frigate has a length specification or Length Overall (LoA) of 140 meters, a width or Breadth of 19.75 meters and a maximum speed of 28 knots when sailing. The construction of the Merah Putih Frigate is not only to meet the needs of national defense equipment, but also aims to create a strong, independent, and globally competitive national defense industry.
Expert Staff for Economic Affairs of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (Kemhan), Major General TNI Steverly C. Parengkuan in his speech representing the Head of the Defense Facilities Agency [Kabaranahan] of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Air Marshal TNI Yusuf Jauhari, M.Eng said that the procurement of the 2nd Frigate ship is part of the defense force development program to support the Indonesian Navy in carrying out its duties and functions to maintain the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia at sea. ” The construction of the 2nd red and white frigate ship at PT PAL Indonesia is one form of development of the domestic defense industry with the aim of increasing the ability and expertise to build similar KRI in the future,” he explained.
This type of Frigate is the first largest warship made by Indonesian sons and daughters and is the pride of the nation so that this project is also called the Red and White Frigate Project. With the implementation of this ceremony, PT PAL Indonesia is increasingly showing its role as a pioneer of the national defense industry in the maritime sector that is able to adapt to global dynamics and support the realization of a strong TNI with modern defense equipment.