Keel laid for Indonesian Navy’s 1st Arrowhead 140 frigate

PT PAL in Indonesia has held a keel laying ceremony for the first of two new frigates for the Indonesian Navy, which are based on Arrowhead 140 design.

The ceremony took place at PT PAL in Surabaya, Indonesia where the ships are being built by a local workforce. The frigates are being built under Babcock’s first export contract for the Arrowhead 140 frigate through a design license agreement with PT PAL Indonesia.

“We congratulate PT PAL on this significant milestone of keel laying for the first of their new frigates. This is also an exciting time for Babcock and our Arrowhead 140 export programme as we proudly see our design coming to fruition,” Babcock’s CEO David Lockwood said.

Recently, the construction started on Polish Navy’s first Miecznik frigates which are based on Arrowhead 140 design. The design was also selected for Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigates.

Three modern Miecznik frigates for the Polish Navy will be built at PGZ in cooperation with defence companies Babcock, MBDA, Thales, Remontowa Shipbuilding, as part of the largest contract ever awarded to the Polish shipbuilding industry. The first frigate will be built by 2026. The Miecznik program is being implemented according to the schedule, according to the company.

Meanwhile, in January this year, Babcock started construction of UK’s second Type 31 frigate HMS Active, coming just 16 months since steel was cut on the first ship, HMS Venturer.