Indonesia will receive a significant ticket deal from France in exchange for its newest Scorpene submarines, which may reset the region’s marine power balance, including that of the South China Sea, and mark an important turning point in Jakartas’ marine modernization program.
Naval News reported this month that the” Scorpene Evolved,” a new iteration of France’s Navy submarine, had been proposed to Indonesia. In March 2022, Jakarta second declared its intention to buy Scorpene boats, though there are financing concerns surrounding the purchase.
According to a Naval News report, the submarine’s propulsion system will be outfitted with an entire Lithium-Ion Battery ( LIB ) configuration, giving it the longest endurance of any other Scorpene family variant.
With the full LIB configuration, the Scorpene Evolved will be able to sustain top speed for longer, have a full endurance of 80 days, and have an operating range of more than 8, 000 nautical miles.
Additionally, it states that maintaining and operating the submarines will be simpler and less expensive for the Indonesian Navy( TNI AL ) than air-independent propulsion ( AIP ) ones, which call for elaborate offshore facilities and additional training for submariners and personnel involved in resupply the system.
According to Naval News, the LIB configuration is in line with the Scorpene underwater agreement that calls for the establishment of an Energy Research Lab in Indonesia by Naval Group and Indian state-owned builder PT PAL.
If successful, the source claims that the test will produce the LIBs for a second and subsequent quantities of Scorpene Evolved, which Indonesia may buy and construct in the future. This laboratory could then be used to create additional energy-related technologies for the military and industrial markets.
According to a Naval News statement, Scorpene Evolved has been offered in addition to the Black Shark missile, the more recent F21 heavyweight, and an integrated version of the MBDA Exocet SM39 cruise missile, which is launched from submarines.
It states that no further modifications or upgrades, including for overcome management system software, will be necessary if TNI AL decides to buy the F21 and SM39 afterwards.
Naval News reports that Scorpene Evolved is still being offered as a full local manufacturing, integration, and testing scheme for two submarines at PT PAL’s current underwater design facility in Surabaya, despite its superior performance to the standard S Corpena submarine variant.
According to the report, the program makes sure that 30 % of the entire lease value is returned to Indonesia through technology move, offset, and the creation of dozens of high-skilled work.
Compared to other AIP technology, LIB systems has a number of benefits. Eric Wertheim claims that LIB submarines have advantages over more typical ones, including improved battery discharge rates, quicker refill times, and higher energy densities, in a December 2022 post for USNI News.
According to Wertheim, this leads to increased acceleration and speed, quieter operations, longer underground strength, and overall performance that is noticeably better. Additionally, he points out that LIBs eliminate the need for an AIP system in order to increase the ship’s underground endurance.
However, there are disadvantages to LIB technologies for boats. Paul Greenfield notes that the technologies also needs to deal with issues like chemical stability, capacity reduction over time, inside short-circuiting, and possible thermal runaway that could cause fatal fires in an article published in The Strategist in August 2019.
The remote 17, 500 islands of Indonesia have made it crucial for Jakarta to get and run a sizable underwater ship. Felix Chang noted that while the TNI-AL’s mission had previously been primarily focused on defending the Indonesian maritime borders, Chinese encroachment into its exclusive economic zone ( EEZ ), particularly around the Natuna Islands, has necessitated naval modernization. This observation was made in a September 2021 article for the Foreign Policy Research Institute( FPRI ).
Additionally, China has improved its long-range hit capabilities, allowing it to affect Indonesia outside of the EEZ. Thangavel Balasubramaniam and Ashok Kumar Murugesan note that the People’s Liberation Army-Air Force( PLA – AF ) landed a H-6K nuclear-capable, long-range strategic bomber on Woody Island in May 2018 in an article for the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs.
The CJ-20 ALCM has a strike range of 3,500 to 5,000 kilometers, and the bomber can launch six electro-optic or infrared imaging guided air-launched cruise missiles( ALCM ), according to the authors.
Also, Balasubramaniam and Murugesan claim that DF-15 short-range ballistic missiles and a ground-launched version of the YJ-12B anti-ship missile are present on China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea, endangering Indonesia and other nearby states.
Indonesia must be able to work outside of its EEZ and yet preemptively hit these threats in this situation rather than attempting to capture the rockets over its territory. Boats may be a more economical barrier than fielding missile defence systems due to their cunning, long range, and land-attack capabilities. & nbsp,
The Nuclear Threat Initiative( NTI) reports that Indonesia currently owns three Nagapasa-class ships and one Cakra, both of which are built on the German Type 209 group. The Cakra and Nagapasa groups, according to NTI, may be underground for up to 50 days, move at a speed of 21.5 knots while submerged, and are armed with heavy torpedoes, compared to their ability to carry anti-ship missiles.
But, that power falls short of Indonesia’s desired underwater numbers. Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto notes that Indonesia’s Minimum Essential Force ( MEF ) 2024 assessment calls for ten submarines in a March 2022 article for the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative( AMTI ), noting that the speed and cost of its defense modernization make it difficult to achieve that desired fleet strength.
Additionally, the loss of the KRI Nanggala in April 2021 perhaps have led Indonesia to reevaluate its relationship with South Korea in the submarine program, raising concerns about the latter’s ability to construct and maintain submarines for trade customers. & nbsp,
As a result, France might decide to join Indonesia’s underwater software. According to Asia Times, Indonesia had declared its intention to buy French Scorpene-class ships in March 2022.
In order to create two Scorpene ships and establish a mutual research and development center in Indonesia, PT PAL of Indonesia and Naval Group of France agreed to collaborate in February 2022.
Despite a purchasing deal signed in April 2019 between North Korean builder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering( DSME) and Indonesia’s Ministry of Defense, that decision was made.
Following that, Asia Times reported in May 2023 that the Indonesian Ministry of Finance had given its approval for a plea for US$ 2.16 billion in foreign loans to fund its plan to acquire submarines.
During the International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference( IMDEX 2023 ), defense resource Janes was able to obtain a declassified letter from Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, which revealed that Prabowo Subianto had requested 25 military procurement programs for which foreign loans had been suggested as the source of funding for 2023.
The increasing cooperation between France and Indonesia regarding Jakarta’s underwater system may also indicate a diplomatic convergence of interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
In an article published in May 2021 for The Strategist, Natalie Sambhi notes that France and Indonesia have a number of major interests in the Indo-Pacific, not the least of which is the steady and tranquil South China Sea. According to Sambhi, France’s hobbies as the third-largest hands exporter in the world in 2022 may even clash with Indonesias’ desire to increase its naval power.
Eric Frecon notes that France’s Indo-Pacific strategy is a resurgence of” Gaullo-Mitterrandism”— a diplomatic doctrine that prioritizes French national interests and values in lateral frameworks— in an article published in February 2022 for the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute.
Frecon points out that France’s strategy is clear from its investment in ties with different Indo-Pacific end powers like Indonesia, which gives it a chance to move beyond the story of Sino-US bipolarity and toward an even more multipolar world order.