Jakarta – The Indonesian Navy has received two new tank landing ships built by a local defense consortium on the island of Batam.

Each ship is capable of carrying 367 personnel, 15 BMP-3F tanks, and a helicopter, according to the Defense Ministry.

It measures 117 meters in length, 16.4 meters in width, and 7.8 meters in height. Both have a maximum speed of 16 knots.

"We need a strong Navy to safeguard the national sovereignty," Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said during the handover ceremony in Batam on Tuesday.

The KRI Teluk Weda-526 is named after the Bay of Central Weda in North Maluku while the KRI Teluk Wondama-527 gets its name from the Bay of Wondama in Papua, next to the famous marine resort Raja Ampat.

Both ships are built by defense company Industri Pertahanan (Indhan) and shipbuilder Bandar Abadi who took 25 months to complete the construction, five months ahead of schedule.

Last month, state-run shipbuilder PAL Indonesia won a license from UK-based defense company Babcock to manufacture two Arrowhead 140 (AH140) frigates for the Indonesian Navy.

The frigates will be built in Surabaya with specific design specifications to meet the requirements of the Navy.

Babcock said the Indonesian deal came two years since the AH140 design was first announced as the preferred bidder for the UK Type 31 frigate program with the contract confirmed in November of the same year.

According to the company, a key unique selling point of the ship is the predictive maintenance system – which identifies issues early, maximizing value for money for taxpayers.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesian-navy-welcomes-two-tank-landing-ship