The first Indonesian Navy Perusak Kawal Rudal (PKR) guided missile frigate completed the process of the combat system installation earlier this month after its handover to the navy in January 2017.
Dutch Damen Shipyards Group and its Indonesian partner PT PAL were in charge of fitting KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata with the systems.
This combat installation and testing phase of PKR construction forms part of a transfer program signed between Damen and Indonesia.
The combat system sea acceptance trials were carried out over a three-week period. During this trial, the electronic warfare suite was tested by Thales. This consists of two main systems, an electronic support measure (passive radar receiver), which enables the vessel to record and interpret the various radar signals it receives from the operational environment and an electronic counter measure system – mostly referred to as jammer. These two systems work together with the combat management system – the center point in the entire web, in order to perform electronic warfare operations.
This was followed by structural firing tests and the alignment of the ship’s sensors and the ship’s guns, done with the support of Rheinmetall to make sure the sensors and weapons are “looking in the same direction”. Exocet surface to surface missile launching system was tested by MBDA France.
The testing of the anti-air warfare (AAW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) functional changes, were the last tests in the schedule. This comprises detecting and tracking surface and air targets, measuring the pointing accuracy of the guns at various heights and distances and to evaluate engagements of air and surface targets with various weapon systems. It also included the trials of the degaussing system, used to control the ship’s magnetic signature.
The second vessel, KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai, is scheduled to undergo the same installations and testing by February 2020, and is expected to be completed at the end of April.
The 105-meter, 2,365 ton PKR frigates are based on Damen’s Sigma 10514 design and intended for a range of missions in and around the waters of Indonesia.
