Indonesia: Second Bung Karno-class corvette enters service

April 21, 2025, by Fatima Bahtić

The Indonesian Navy commissioned its second Bung Karno-class corvette, KRI Bung Hatta, in a ceremony at PT Karimun Anugrah Sejati’s shipyard in Batam, on April 17, 2025.

As disclosed, the project is part of the modernization of the Indonesian Navy forces in order to support the achievement of future tasks. The corvette was built in 20 months and demonstrates the country’s commitment to procure more domestically made products.

The ship boasts a length of 80.3 meters, has a beam of 12.6 meters, and can reach a top speed of 25 knots. According to the navy, KRI Bung Hatta has several advantages, namely, it is equipped with one unit of Bofors 57 mm naval gun that can be upgraded to 76 mm and two units of 20 mm cannon. In addition, this ship will also be armed with surface-to-air missiles (SAM), surface-to-surface missiles (SSM), and a torpedo system for anti-surface, air, and underwater warfare.

This ship is also capable of carrying out electronic warfare missions because it is equipped with various electronic equipment such as R-ECM, R-ESM, etc., and is capable of operating in various terrains and weather.

“The commissioning of KRI Bung Hatta-370 is proof of the progress achieved by national private shipyards. I hope that national shipyards can continue to innovate, increase capacity, and capability so that they can reduce dependence on foreign products, while strengthening the nation’s independence in the defense sector,” Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff (Kasal) Admiral Muhammad Ali said.

The shop got its name after Mohammad Hatta, known as Bung Hatta, who was a key figure in Indonesian history. On August 17, 1945, Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta declared Indonesia’s independence from Japanese occupation and Dutch colonial rule.

Among other notable projects of the Indonesian Navy, Indonesia plans to build two frigates based on the Royal Navy’s Type 31 design (also marked as Arrowhead 140) at Indonesian shipyards. The keel for the first vessel was laid in September 2023.