Go Win Something, Anything : Malaysia's Second Generation Patrol Vessels

Second Time Lucky?

In the 1990s, Malaysia perceived the need to replace its ageing Vosper 103ft Type patrol crafts ( PC ), tiny boats with a length of 31m displacing just 96 tons that had been in service since the 1960s. Known as the New Generation Patrol Vessel ( NGPV ) Project, the initial specifications called for a Offshore Patrol Vessel ( OPV ) design which displaced 1300 tons with a length of 80m. However, the winning bid, based on the Blohm + Voss MEKO 100 design, ended up displacing 1850 tons with a length of 91m, a size resembling a corvette rather than an OPV. The NGPV project was plagued by delays caused by quality control issues and cost overruns, and when it was finally concluded in 2010, yielded only six ships of the guns only KD Kedah-class out of the originally intended twenty seven. Given that situation, one may logically presume that the Royal Malaysian Navy ( RMN ) would be fairly desperate in need for new surface combatants to boost the strength of its Fleet.

Indeed in early 2011, Malaysia initiated the Second Generation Patrol Vessel ( SGPV ) Project which aims to provide the RMN with six stealth frigates by the end of the decade, a timely procurement, since by then, not counting the NGPVs, even the newest Lekiu-class frigate would have been in service for more than twenty years. Further more, with the increasingly belligerent stance of China in the South China Sea, many of the surrounding littoral states are locked in an urgent arms race to boost their naval capabilities. Malaysia cannot really afford another fiasco like the NGPV project, or can they?

The SGPV is based on the Gowind 2500 stealth ship. Image : DCNS



CGI : Gowind 2500 with hangar and helicopter in view. Image : DCNS

Second Generation Patrol Vessel - Littoral Combat Ship

Malaysia's next generation frigate programme is known as the Second Generation Patrol Vessel - Littoral Combat Ship ( SGPV-LCS ) Project. The name is somewhat misleading as the ships involved are essentially multi-mission frigates, major ocean-going surface combatants, rather than patrol vessels which generally implies a much smaller and lightly armed warship for close shore duties. The inclusion of the words Littoral Combat Ship may also cause unnecessary confusion with the US Navy's pre-existing Freedom-class and Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships.

The project was announced in early 2011 and originally involved six frigate type warships with stealth features displacing about 2700 tons. The budget for this project was MYR6billion, then worth about US$1.9billion. There were several contenders, including Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine System with their subsidiary Blohm+Voss' MEKO 200 design, Dutch Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding with its Sigma-class 10514 and the French DCNS with the Gowind-class. TKMS being the parent company of Blohm+Voss was of course no stranger to Malaysia as it was closely involved with the NGPV project and was also the supplier of the older Kasturi-class light frigates while Damen had recently been successful in selling Indonesia its scalable Sigma 9113 corvettes and Sigma 10514 frigates. DCNS on the other hand supplied Singapore with its La Fayette-class derived Formidable-class stealth frigates and sold Malaysia their Scorpenes and Agosta-B submarines.

By end 2011, it emerged that the French Gowind based design had been chosen and a contract worth MYR9billion ( then USD2.8billion ) had been awarded to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd which will team up with DCNS to build the vessels locally at their Lumut yard. Boustead Naval Shipyard is one of many companies under the umbrella of Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad which is itself part of a bigger, publicly listed, government linked industrial conglomerate known as Boustead Holdings Berhad. So just what is a Gowind-class vessel?

DCNS's Gowind Family

The Gowind is DCNS's solution to littoral warfare. It is not a single vessel but a collection of warships types that spans several classes from entry level OPV types to higher end corvettes and light frigates. Just like the MEKOs and Sigmas, the Gowind's modular design makes it highly scalable. The vessels are all shaped to have a reduced radar cross-section signature and have additional stealth features as an integral part of their design, such as a single integrated mast where all the sensors are mounted. That replaced several sensor masts in older designs which tends to contribute to unnecessary clutter and increased reflection of radar waves. The main guns can be encased in stealth cupolas. The propulsion system is that of combined diesel and diesel ( CODAD ) configuration with no funnel stack to emit infra-red radiation. Instead the engine exhaust is dissipated as waterjets which also served to enhance the maneuverability of the ships especially in shallow waters.




Smoke and fumes from a VL Mica launch obscures the 16 cell vertical launch system
 behind the main gun while chaff has been dispensed aft of the Gowind 2500.
Image : DCNS 

The Gowind 1000 launches an anti-ship missile.
Note the array of 8 vertical launch cells on a raised portion behind the main gun.
Image : DCNS

The Gowind OPV now known as the OPV90 by Kership
serving in the French Navy as the L'Adroit. Image : Kership

The FS L'Adroit of the Marine Nationale at the Singapore Navy Open House in 2013.
Photo via Wikicommons.

Although DCNS's website list only two Gowind variants, the Gowind 1000, a 1500 ton lightly armed version for less demanding missions and the much bigger Gowind 2500, a 2500 ton multi-mission corvette type with significant anti-submarine capabilities, there are more variants including an OPV type now renamed the OPV90 that had been reassigned to Kership, a DCNS subsidiary. In fact DCNS even built one, the OPV L'Adroit, and loaned it to the French Navy for evaluations for a period of three years, seemingly free of charge. You can watch DCNS' video on the L'Adroit here.

All Gowind variants come complete with a helideck for helicopter and UAV operations while the larger vessels also feature a helicopter hangar. In DCNS's original configuration, the Gowind corvettes are armed with a 76mm main gun, two 20mm cannons, vertical launched MICA surface to air missiles and MM-40 Block 3 Exocet anti-ship missiles. In addition, the Gowind 2500 has two triple torpedo launchers as part of its ASW arsenal, though they are listed as only an option in the Gowind 1000.

The Gowind vessels are capable of operating unmanned systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAV ), unmanned underwater vehicles ( UUV ) and unmanned surface vehicles ( USV ).

Gowind 2500 Specifications and Characteristics. Source : DCNS

As of today, DCNS had already secured orders for 10 Gowind ships. Malaysia's 6 vessel contract was the first commercial success ( paid order ) for the type while the Egyptian Navy became the second customer with 4 vessels on order. All were presumably variants based on the design of the larger and more capable Gowind 2500 ( Malaysia ) or the Gowind 2500 base model itself ( Egypt ).





Malaysia's Gowind SGPV-LCS

Malaysia's finalized SGPV design is a frigate sized derivative of the Gowind 2500 corvette displacing 3100 tons, an increase from the initial proposed displacement of 2700 tons. With that there has also been a 50% increase in the acquisition cost from MYR6billion to MYR9billion. The price includes intellectual property rights and technology transfer, which could mean Malaysia owns the rights to the modified Gowind design and might be able to export it to interested third parties in the future. That is of course provided Boustead Naval Shipyard is able to build them according to specifications in the first place.




Malaysia's Gowind-class Second Generation Patrol Vessel- Littoral Combat Ship. Source : Boustead Naval Shipyard

These are some of the known specifications including sensors and armaments for the Gowind SGPV :

Length                     : 111 meters

Breath                      : 16 meters

Draught                   : 3.85 meters

Displacement          : 3100 tons

Propulsion               : Combined Diesel and Diesel ( CODAD )

Engine                     : 4 x MTU Diesel

Maximum Speed     : 28 knots

Range                      : 5000 nautical miles at 15 knots

Endurance               : 21 days

Complement           :  Up to 138

Combat System      : DCNS SETIS

Search Radar          : Thales Nederland SMART-S Mk 2 3D Multi-beam Radar

Fire Control Radar : Rheinmetall TMX/EO Mk II Fire Control Radar
                                 Rheinmetall TMEO Mk II Electro-Optical Tracking System

ESM                       : Thales VIGILE 100 Electronic Support Measures System
                                
Sonar                      : Thales CAPTAS-2 Variable Depth Sonar
                                  Hull Mounted Sonar ? Thales Bluewatcher

Communications    : Thales TUUM-6 underwater communications equipment
                                  Thales TSB 3520 ATC / IFF Combined Interrogator Transponder

Decoy                     : Wallop/Esterline Super Barricade Decoy System

Main Gun               : 1 x BAE Systems 57mm Mk3 Naval Gun in Stealth Cupola

Cannons                 : 2 x MSI Seahawk 30mm cannons

SAM                      : MBDA VL Mica in 16 Sylver ?A35 launchers

SSM                       : 2 x 4 Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile

Torpedo                 : 2 x J+S ( Now SEA ) 324mm Triple Torpedo Launcher

Helicopter              : EC725 Caracal / AugustaWestland Super Lynx 300 / Eurocopter AS350 Fennac

 

Constructing the SGPV

Unlike Egypt's 4 corvette deal with DCNS where the first-in-class would be constructed in France and the remaining three in Alexandria, Egypt, the Malaysians elected to have the entire batch of six frigates constructed locally at their Boustead Naval Shipbuilding ( BNS ) shipyard at Lumut, Perak. This was a bold decision, given that at that point of time the Lumut facilities were not quite built for the task of constructing the stealth frigates. A major upgrade had to be carried out with the help of DCNS before construction of the vessels could begin.

It was subsequently revealed that although the USD2.8billion contract was awarded to BNS / DCNS in 2011, it only went into effect on 14th July 2014, after the completion of  a massive infrastructure upgrade at the Lumut shipyard - ship lifts, block assembly halls, panel assembly halls and keel laying lines. The Malaysians even planned to have three ships in parallel construction at the yard. The Gowind contracts with Malaysia and Egypt was only confirmed by DCNS later that year.

Aerial view of the Boustead Naval Shipbuilding Lumut Shipyard at the mouth of
Sungai Manjung. Source : Boustead

BNS Lumut yard now seems to have upgraded shiplifts. Source : Boustead Naval Shipbuilding

Another view of BNS Lumut. Source : Boustead Naval Shipbuilding

Not only will the ships be constructed in Malaysia, even the combat system will be assembled and tested at the not too distant Cyberjaya town, part of the ex-ex-Prime Minister Mahathir's grandiose Multimedia Corridor and Malaysia's Silicon Valley wannabe. Potential systems suppliers and integrators are in a way forced to perform as much work on the ships as possible locally in Malaysia. In fact any foreign company who wish to participant in the SGPV project will probably have to agree to set up some joint venture with well connected locals or local companies, a regional headquarters here, a training facility there, some maintenance and servicing company to cater for subsequent repairs and upgrades, and so on and so forth. You get the idea.

To cite specific examples, J+S Ltd, a British company selected to supply the torpedo launch system for the SGPV, had opened an office in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur to serve the ASEAN region. They also announced that they would be sourcing some products and services locally. Thales, the supplier of the Smart-Ass Mk2 naval surveillance radars will be building the first two systems in the Netherlands but the remaining four would be assembled and tested in Malaysia by a local company Contraves Advanced Devices Sdn Bhd which itself is jointly owned by who else but Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation and Rheinmetall Defence.

All these came as no surprise since Malaysia is a nation obsessed with offsets, technology transfers and industrial joint ventures, even to the extend of dabbling with bartering every once in a blue moon. For example, the €1.035billion scorpene submarine deal with DCN in 2002 obligated France to in return buy €230million worth of Malaysian palm oil, €92million of other commodities and invest  €138million for training and technology transfers to local Malaysian firms. There was allegedly also a spin off deal to increase the landing rights for Malaysia Airlines at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Then there was the Sukhoi Su-30MKM deal that came with the condition that Russia help train and send a Malaysian astronaut to the International Space Station, which they eventually did as promised, and that happened in 2007. Even earlier, Yeltsin was partially paid in Malaysian palm oil for the MiG-29 deal ....

Construction of the yet to be named lead vessel started in Jun 2015 and would be completed in early 2019. The subsequent five ships would be completed at ten months interval thereafter, which means the last ship would be completed sometime in 2023. The image from Boustead Naval Yard seem to suggest the lead ship will be having the pennant number F177, continuing serially after the six Kedah-class NGPV which have pennant numbers from F171 to F176.

Keel laying signals the official start of the ship construction.
This is probably hull number 2. Image via RMN Tweet.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Malaysia's Gowind-class frigates are great warships with many advanced features and capabilities. Being brand new they also include the latest design trends and incorporate the latest technology in maritime security and naval warfare. At 3100 tons fully loaded, these are fairly large in size and that translates to better sea keeping, higher endurance and a higher level of comfort for the serving ship crew. As a class they should be able to execute their mission of protecting Malaysia's vast maritime interests well and form a credible deterrence against any potential aggression by regional countries. Unfortunately there are certain omissions that could have an adverse impact on the ship's combat capabilities. 

A main gun with a bigger caliber, like the 76mm ( 3 inch ) Oto Melara Super Rapid would be a better choice. Bigger guns have longer reach and make for better shore bombardment should that requirement ever arise, like when some rag tag militia force from some self proclaimed Philippine sultanate come occupying your outlaying islands. Even RMN's newest Kedah-class corvettes are armed with 76mm main guns. Stealth cupola or not 57mm just seem too small for a full fledged frigate. They are more suited for smaller surface combatants like corvettes and FAC.

The BAE Systems / Bofors 57mm Mk3 in stealth cupola on the Swedish Visby-class corvette. Photo : Wikipaedia

A pair of MSI Defence Systems Seahawk remotely controlled 30mm cannons on a gyro-stabilized, electrically operated mount with an electro-optical director is great for force protection against asymmetric threats like hordes of fast boats but it cannot double as a close-in weapon system ( CIWS ) for last line of defence against sea skimming anti-ship missiles and precision guided munitions ( PGM ). Without a dedicated gun-based CIWS, the SGPV in effect relies on the VL-MICA as a missile-based CIWS. No doubt the VL MICA does have anti-missile capabilities, but would you put all your eggs in one basket?


The choice of short ranged VL Mica for the frigates' air defence is also not ideal. Although the VL Mica is an extremely capable and proven design which combines compactness and light weight with a short reaction time, high rate of fire and multi-target capabilities ( including missiles and PGM ), its Achilles Heel is really its relatively short range of up to 20km. Its maneuverability rapidly falls from 50G at 7km to 30G at 12km as kinetic energy is bled off with increasing distance from the point of launch. It is good for point defence but would not be so suitable for area defence. So the VL Mica might be perfect for a smaller vessel like the NGPV but I would expect a frigate to be able to provide task force-wide area defence. Assuming that the Gowind frigate has the shortest Sylver A35 chosen, having a longer vertical launch system ( VLS ) like the A43 or A50 which can accommodate longer ranged surface-to-air missiles like the MBDA Aster 15 or Aster 30 respectively would have been a better choice.


Ditching the MM40 Block III Exocet in favour of the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile ( NSM ) could prove to be a good move. Both have anti-ship, littoral and coastal attack capabilities, both have effective range in excess of 100 nautical miles but the NSM is a much more contemporary design whereas the Exocet could trace its lineage to the 1970s. It is true that compared to even the MM40 Block II, the Block III is like a radically new missile, but the RMN already has in its service the SM39 and the MM40 Block II. So it might not be a bad idea to diversify the SSM inventory with the NSM so as not to be to overly reliant on one supplier. The NSM would give the RMN's surface fleet enhanced land attack capabilities in addition to its anti-ship role.

A model of the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile on display. Photo : Wikipaedia

The Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile successfully being test fired on the
USN Littoral Combat Ship LCS4 USS Coronado in July 2014. Photo : USN 

The selected surveillance radar, the Thales SMART-S Mk2, is a capable radar system that has already been installed on corvettes and frigates of many navies, including Germany's Brandenburg-class frigates and as a future upgrade for New Zealand's ANZAC-class frigate. The acronym stands for Signaal Multibeam Acquisition Radar for Tracking, S-Band. It is a medium to long range air and surface multibeam passive electronically scanned array ( PESA ) 3D radar designed by Thales Nederland ( formally Thomson-CSF Signaal ) and as the name implies, operates in the S-Band ( with frequencies between 2 - 4 GHz, also known as E/F-Band in NATO nomenclature ). Its maximum instrumented range is 250km against air targets and 80km against surface targets. It can automatically detect and track up to a total of 750 air and surface targets simultaneously. Easy to use with only two operational mode and minimal operation system settings, the SMART-S Mk2 also features high operational availability through the use of solid state technology and ease of maintenance with line-replaceable-units that are easy to exchange when defective.


The Thales CAPTAS-2 / UMS 4229 long range low frequency active and passive variable depth sonar ( VDS ) is a compact and versatile detection system for medium ASW platforms 1500 tons and above. CAPTAS is the acronym for Combined Active and Passive Towed Array Sonar and it comes in three versions for vessels of different sizes, CAPTAS-1, -2 and -4. A VDS essentially enables the ASW unit to transmit and receive at the right depth to maximise the detection of very quiet modern diesel-electric submarines such as the Russian Kilo-class or Chinese Type 39A Yuen-class SSK. The CAPTAS-2 is rugged, operational up to sea state 6, and has a maximum operational depth of 250m. The detection performance is listed by Thales as beyond the first oceanic convergence zone which means in excess of 20 to 30 nautical miles. It has embedded torpedo defence capability and multi-platform operation capability with two frigates in the same area. In times of emergency, such as torpedo avoidance, the towed array can withstand towing at 30 knots. Deployment and retrieving of the towed array can be completed in 20 minutes. The CAPTAS family of VDS has already ben installed or selected for more than 40 ships including the FREMM frigates of the French, Italian and Moroccan Navies. You can watch a video of the smaller CAPTAS-1 and BlueWatcher hull-mounted sonar in action here.





Hull-mounted sonar fails to detect enemy submarine hiding beneath
thermal layer but the variable depth sonar's dual-towed
receiver array and transmitting body are deployed at the optimal depth.
Source : Advanced Acoustic Concepts / DRS Thales

The Thales CAPTAS-2 towed body. Image : Thales

The CAPTAS-1 with its winch can be installed in a containerized system
below the helideck. Image : Thales



The transmitting Towed Body attached to the winch cable. Image : Thales

CAPTAS-1 VDS Single Tow : The Body ( seen transmitting ) tows the Receive Array. Image : Thales 

The electronic support measures ( ESM ) suite chosen was the Thales Vigile 100 system. The vigile family is Thales' 4th generation ESM system tailored for naval applications for both surface and sub-surface units. According to the manufacturer, it provides wide band ( C to J Bands ), high sensitivity receptions and pulse analysis with the ability to detect low probability of intercept (LPI) or invisible hostile radars using ultra sensitive search mode. It also supports electronic intelligence (ELINT), precise de-interleaving, and specific emitter identification/platform identification using ESM tasked mode measuring signals frequency, phase and amplitude.

Although the Gowind-class incorporates the latest technology and is purpose-designed to be able to operate unmanned systems, Malaysia seem to have decided not to equip its new frigates with any unmanned aerial vehicles as originally planned, like the VTOL Airbus Tanan. This is puzzling as UAVs can be valuable assets to augment existing capabilities and are a force multiplier for any platform, big or small. Then again, nothing that Malaysia does make much sense to us most of the time. This omission may cost the RMN in the future.

.

The Airbus Tanan VTOL UAS with Gowind 2500. Image : Thales

Airbus Tanan UAS and frigate with variable depth sonar. Image : Airbus

Trail Blazing with the Gowind Stealth Frigate

Malaysia's decision to go with the wind and select the Gowind 2500-class as a basis for its SGPV-LCS future frigate programme could be viewed as a bold trail blazing move. This is because they are the type's first real, paying customer, internationally or otherwise. Even the French Navy does not own any. The OPV FS L'Adroit is not counted as it is on loan to the navy for evaluation and perhaps publicity, and it was for free. So actually till today nobody has built a frigate sized Gowind before. New platforms usually have their fair share of teething problems and the SGPV will no doubt face similar issues. More so if it were to be constructed outside France. The decision to construct everything in Malaysia could represent a good opportunity for local companies to benefit from technology transfers and generate much needed jobs for Malaysian workers. If not implemented properly, it might just lead to the same delays and cost overruns that plague the previous NGPV project. However, with an experienced stealth ship builder like DCNS providing technical expertise and support, such problems might hopefully be minimized.

Questions remain as to why the cost of the six ships was allowed to balloon from the initial budgeted  MYR6billion to MYR9billion. It is puzzling especially considering that the ships' combat systems, though capable, are not all entirely top of the line and many of the systems initially desired by the RMN were eventually scaled down or opted out, like the UAV. Also, why has the tonnage to increase from the originally planned 2700 tons to the finalized 3100 tons? Either RMN doesn't know what it needs or its decision is too easily swayed by the vendor's marketing antics, or both. Could the mere increase in tonnage account for such a vast price rise or is Malaysia also paying so much more because it wanted to retain the intellectual property rights to the frigate's designs? If so is it a wise decision given the current poor economical and political situation in Malaysia? The final bill for the six ships will likely be much higher than MYR9billion due to currency exchange fluctuations in favour of the Euro / US Dollar as the Ringgit had weaken considerably in the past five years since the project had began and it is unlikely to strengthen in the near future. In this scandal prone country, could it be another bribery scam in the making, perhaps even with another murder or two thrown in as well?

Looking at the dilapidated state of the RMN today, with only six semi-equipped OPVs, two barely there post-SLEP corvettes and two ageing frigates forming the core of the surface combatants, the induction of these Gowind frigates into the Fleet will undoubtedly be keenly anticipated by the Malaysians. When that day arrives, the Malaysian Navy can at least claim parity with regional navies like the Indonesian Navy and the Singapore Navy and declare that they also own and operate stealth vessels, in the process Winning back some lost prestige.

Le Frégate pour l' Petit KRI Usman Harun Heading Home, Yet To Be Commissioned.

Bung Tomo Class Light Frigate




KRI Bung Tomo (357) docking at Portland, UK on 1st Aug 2014. Bung Tomo or Brother Tomo is the nick name of Sutomo, one of Indonesia's National Heroes. Photo : Les Blackaller / MarineTraffic

The Bung Tomo Class frigates were originally known as the Nakhoda Ragam-class, built for the Royal Brunei Navy based on the Yarrow F2000 light frigate design in 1999. 3 ships were constructed, customized in part for the smaller stature of Asians in general. For reasons not made public, Brunei rejected the frigates upon completion of their sea trials claiming that they were not built to specifications. The ship builder BAE Systems sort arbitration through the International Court of Arbitration in 2004 and after closed door hearings in 2006, eventually won the case the following year. Brunei took ownership of the vessels but commissioned the German ship builder Lurssen Werft to sell them off. It wasn't till late 2012 that the frigates were finally sold to Indonesia at a great discount. They were to be renamed the KRI Bung Tomo, KRI John Lie and KRI Usman Harun, after Indonesia's national heroes. The first 2 may be Indonesian heroes but Usman and Harun were undisputedly terrorists who infiltrated Singapore and carried out sabotage and bombings on non-military targets that killed 3 innocent civilians and wounded 33 more in 1965. They were captured, tried and convicted of murder and eventually executed.

For a detail account of that terror attack on Singapore and the naming of the frigate after the 2 terrorist, read my earlier blog "Discount Frigates For Small People with Hare Brains : The KRI Usman-Harun Saga".

Commissioning! But Only Ships One And Two

After languishing at the piers at Barrow-in-Furness in England for 7 years, the first and second-in-class KRI Bung Tomo ( Pennant number 357 ) and KRI John Lie ( Pennant number 358 ) had been inducted into the Indonesian Navy on 18th July 2014 in a ceremony presided over by Indonesia's Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro. For reasons not openly revealed the third-in-class KRI Usman Harun ( Pennant number 359 ) was not commissioned together with her sister ships even though all three were physically at the same location. I was hoping perhaps it was the Indonesian President-elect Bung Dodo who postponed the commissioning because he understood the serious damage that was already done to bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Singapore from the naming saga. Might he be contemplating a name change for frigate number 3? Doubtful. The admirals will stage a mutiny before that can happen.

More probably we are seeing the effects of Singapore's strong protest against naming the frigate after the two terrorists earlier in Feb 2014. TNI-AL may not want to admit it least it be perceived as weakness but the defense ministry could be trying to keep the entire event low profile to avoid further stoking of tensions between Singapore and Indonesia. Face saving is very important for people with huge egos.

Going Home



All three frigates have since left the United Kingdom for Indonesia. The lead ship KRI Bung Tomo was the first to leave Barrow-in-Furness at the end of July, shortly after her commissioning, with a crew of 87 Indonesian naval personnel and 5 ship's technicians from the UK. She made port calls at Portland ( UK ), Malaga ( Spain ), Civitavecchia ( Italy ), Port Said ( Egypt ), Jeddah ( Saudi Arabia ), Cochin ( India ) before eventually arriving at the Indonesian Port of Belawan in Northern Sumatra on 8th Sep 2014, a 9740 nautical mile journey ( about 18038km ) that took 42 days. After throwing a cocktail reception, she continued her journey the next day to the capital city of Jakarta and will travel onwards to Surabaya in East Java.

It was revealed that all the Christian members of the crew performed a religious pilgrimage to the Vatican during the ship's stopover in Italy and then all the Muslim members perform the umrah ( minor pilgrimage ) when the ship docked at Jeddah.

While in transit, KRI Bung Tomo also took part in war exercises off Lebanon, Oman and Jeddah together with warships from several countries, like the United States, Canada and Japan. This is common naval practice among friendly nations to conduct passing exercises (PASSEX) and other more sophisticated exercises when they meet.





KRI Usman Harun (359) Leaving Portland, UK 13th Aug 2014. Photo : Les Blackller / MarineTraffic

AIS tracking information seem to indicate that the other 2 frigates are basically tracing the journey of the KRI Bung Tomo with a delay of about 10 days, and they have so far been travelling together as a task group / mini convoy. They are expected to arrive in Belawan, Indonesia around 20th Sep 2014, barring unforeseen circumstances. They are scheduled to sail to Surabaya where they will be involved in a display to celebrate Indonesia's Armed Forces Day on 5th Oct. The frigates will eventually be inducted into the Indonesian Navy's Eastern Fleet where they will assume offshore patrol duties.




KRI John Lie (358) and KRI Usman Harun (359) seen berthed together at Malaga, Spain 20th Aug 2014. Photo Paco Canela / MarineTraffic

Newly Built?!

Quote from the Jakarta Post " The Indonesian Navy’s Col. Yayan Sofiyan could not hide his sense of pride as he was entrusted by the government to bring home a newly built British-made light frigate, the KRI Bung Tomo." This was obviously an error as the journalist who wrote that article must have been absolutely ignorant of the frigate's tortuous and troubled past. If you can call a 14 year old warship Newly Built, then by the same account my nine year old car has to be better than Factory Mint! Wake up guys, in most other navies 14 years is about the time you start planning and conducting mid-life upgrades and service life-extension programmes ( SLEP ). After all, the useful lifespan of a hull is about 30 years, maybe 40 years, if you maintain it well.

Just Passing

So Le Frégates pour l' Petit, the frigates for small people, are finally sailing home. Their journey through the Straits of Malacca will bring them to the close proximity of Singapore but there will be no PASSEX with the Republic of Singapore Navy. They ( specifically the KRI Usman Harun ) are not even welcome to stop at the city state, missing the chance to call at one of South East Asia's most advanced naval facilities at Changi Naval Base*. If the Indonesian admiralty had any brains they would probably want the frigates to slip past Singapore as quietly as possible. They can continue to languish at some non-descript Kalimantan base for the next 20 years for all I care. Makes a formidable admiral's fishing boat!

* Singapore's Changi Naval Base regularly berths visiting ships of the USN, including the Nimitz Class nuclear powered aircraft carriers. It is also host to the Littoral Combat Ship USS Freedom (LCS 1) during her 8 month deployment to South East Asia recently.




15th Jul 2013 The littoral combat ship USS Freedom (LCS 1), right, and the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), top, are moored at Changi Naval Base, Singapore, with the Republic of Singapore navy formidable-class frigate RSS Stalwart (72), bottom. The ships will participate in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Singapore 2013. USN Photo



Discount Frigates For Small People with Hare Brains : The KRI Usman-Harun Saga

KRI John Lie, sister ship of the KRI Usman-Harun, participating in a combined gunnery
exercise with the USN during CARAT Indonesia 2015. US Navy Photo

 

Brunei's KDB Nakhoda Ragam on the River Clyde on 14th Jul 2007.
It would ultimately be sold to Indonesia and renamed KRI John Lie. Wikicommons

A Cursed Class Of Warship?

Indonesia's recent purchase of 3 Yarrow F2000 class light frigates from Brunei and the subsequent decision to name the third of class the KRI Usman-Harun ( MMSI 525014076 ) triggered off an unfortunate and unnecessary diplomatic incident with neighbouring Singapore. The 3 frigates were constructed for Brunei but were rejected and never commissioned. They were sold to Indonesia after languishing at a British dock for several years. The 2 men whom the frigate was named after were navy marines who were ordered to infiltrate into Singapore to carry out bombings and sabotage against civilian targets during then President Sukarno's Confrontation with the newly formed Malaysia ( which Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak were also part of ). The duo carried out the bombing of the MacDonald House in Orchard Road which killed 3 civilians and injured 33 others on 10th Mar 1965. They were eventually apprehended and tried in court and sentenced to death by hanging. They were branded as terrorists in Singapore but were considered national heroes back home in Indonesia. Now that Indonesia has insisted it will not back down and rename the ship, Singapore has banned the ship from her territorial waters and from calling at her ports and naval bases. Singapore naval ships will also not sail with or participate in military exercises with this ship.

The Yarrow F2000 Frigate




Royal Malaysian Navy's light frigate KD Lekiu, a typical F2000 based warship
with the Bofors 57mm main gun, MM-40 Exocet SSM and
an aft helicopter deck. Source : Wikipedia

Some might classify this class of warship as a corvette, displacing about 2000 tons. They were designed by Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited of Glasgow, now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships. A rather popular choice for the navies of South East Asia I must say, Malaysia's KD Lekiu and KD Jebat launched in 1994 and 1995 respectively are based on the F2000 light frigate design. At around the same time in 1995, Brunei, an oil and gas rich tiny sultanate in northern Borneo also contracted YSL to build 3 large offshore patrol vessels (OPV) based on the F2000. They were to be known as the Nakhoda Ragam class OPV, named after a legendary Malay seafarer.

The Nakhoda Ragam Class OPV

These OPVs were a state of the art variant of the Yarrow F2000 frigate built to the Sultan of Brunei's specifications, highly automated to allow for a compliment of only 79 men to operated. Displacing 1940 tonnes, they were also specially tailored to cater for the shorter statue of Bruneian sailors ( relative to Europeans ). The first and second of class, the KDB Nakhoda Ragam and the KDB Bandahara Sakam, were launched in Jan and June 2001 while the last ship KDB Jarambak was launched in June the following year. When they were completed and ready for delivery in 2004, Brunei insisted that they were not built to specifications and rejected them, even refusing to pay. The matter was eventually brought to the International Court of Arbitration and the ruling was in favour of BAE Systems the shipbuilders. Ownership was ultimately transferred to Brunei in 2007 but the Royal Brunei Navy had absolutely no plans to commission them. Instead, they contracted the German shipbuilder Lurssen to build the replacement corvettes and to find a buyer for these orphaned ships. As they were custom made for tropical operations ( no heating system onboard ) and for smaller sized Asian sailors, the potential customer base would probably be limited to countries in South-East Asia and at best the Middle-East. Finally in Nov 2012, Indonesia acquired the 3 vessels from Brunei at  a bargain price of a fifth of the original cost ( reported to be 600 million pounds ). The ships would be reactivated and renamed the KRI Bung Tomo, KRI John Lie and KRI Usman Harun, in accordance with the Indonesian Navy's custom of naming their frigates after national heroes. They will be delivered to Indonesia in 2014.





The KDB Bandahara Sakam Photo : Clydesite.co.ok




The three Nakhoda Ragam class OPVs languishing at the port of
Burrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom in 2007 before they were sold to Indonesia.
The middle ship with pennant number 29, KDB Bandahara Sakam, would be
given a new pennant number 359 and renamed KRI Usman-Harun. Photo : Wikipaedia
 

 

 

Heroes and Terrorists

So who are these men Bung Tomo, John Lie and the two marines?

Sutomo or Bung Tomo ( Brother Tomo ) was an Indonesian military leader during the war of independence against the colonial powers. He played a central role in the Battle of Surabaya in Nov 1945 when the British forces attacked the city. Known for motivating the masses with his oratorical speeches before independence, he later became outspoken against corruption and abuses of power during the Suharto years. He died in Mecca, Saudi Arabia during the Hajj Pilgrimage in 1981.

National Hero : Bung Tomo circa 1947. Wikipaedia

John Lie, a.k.a. John Lie Tjeng Tjoan and Jahja Daniel Dharma was a Chinese Indonesian who joined the militia during Indonesia's war for independence and was involved in smuggling goods to Singapore in exchange for money to finance the revolution and weapons to fight the Dutch colonists. After independence, he was called to service as a commander in the navy and retired as a rear admiral in 1966. He died in 1988 and was posthumously awarded the Bintang Mahaputera Utama by President Suharto in 1995. He was declared a national hero for his services and contributions to his country by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2009.

National Hero : Colonel John Lie circa 1960. Photo : Wikipaedia

In contrast, Second Sergeant Usman Bin Haji Mohammed Ali a.k.a. Usman Janatin and Lance Corporal Harun Thohir a.k.a. Harun Said Bin Muhammad Ali are Indonesian Marines sent to infiltrate Singapore in civilian attire at the height of the then president Sukarno's Confrontation ( or Konfrontasi in Bahasa Indonesia ) policy towards newly formed Malaysia in 1965. The bombing of MacDonald's House ( home to HSBC Bank, Australian Embassy and Japanese Consulate then ) killed 3 innocent civilians and wounded 33 more. They were captured at sea 4 days after the bombing when trying to flee Singapore. Charged with murder and sentenced to death, they were finally hanged in Oct 1968 despite a clemency plea from the new Indonesian strongman President Suharto. They were promptly declared national heroes and buried in the Heroes cemetery in Jakarta. Note that since war was not formally declared between Indonesia and Malaysia / Singapore, these captives cannot be considered as prisoner of war ( POW) and conferred POW rights under the Geneva Convention. Although they were soldiers by profession, and even if war had been declared, they infiltrated a sovereign country without their military uniforms and that at best made them spies. Spies are usually either executed when captured and proven guilty or used as bargaining chips for prisoner exchanges and the works. At the end of the day bombing civilian infrastructures and killing and maiming innocent civilians are just acts of terrorism and the 2 perpetrators are nothing more than f***ing TERRORISTS. Misguided as they were by the Sukarno Government, they had to face the Singapore judicial system and accept the consequences of their actions. As a direct result of their execution, the Singapore embassy in Jakarta was mobbed and bilateral relations soured. It was not until 1973 when the then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited their graves in Jakarta and sprinkled flowers over them that Singapore considered the chapter closed.

National Hero? Photo : Wikipaedia

Buying Cheap "New" Frigates

The Indonesians believed they had a good bargain, paying just US$300 million or about a fifth of the original cost of the 3 frigates. The politicians also dressed up the buy as new ships but we know better. These frigates are not exactly newly minted ships. They were constructed more than a decade ago and were left to rot at their berthing for many years. If fact they were originally out fitted with the Seawolf missile system for air defense but had to be retrofitted with the newer VL-MICA missiles as the missile manufacturer MBDA no longer sells the Seawolf missiles. All this will add to the original cost of the purchase.

Looking back, the tendency to shop for bargain goods seemed to be a national trait of Indonesia. In 1993, ex-president Habibie, then Science and Technology Minister, educated in Germany, bought the entire East German flotilla of floating junk - 15 year old corvettes, minesweepers, landing ships, gunboats, totaling 39 ships, at the "rock bottom" price of about $10 million to $12 million each without first consulting with the navy or finance ministry. It was subsequently found that to refurbish and retrofit those rusting kettles would cost Indonesia $1.1 billion, about a quarter of their annual defense budget. Despite this fiasco, Habibie went on to become Indonesia's vice president and then president, when Suharto was ousted during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.

If only the politicians were less corrupt Indonesia could probably be able to have a bigger budget for ordering more modern warships with better equipment and in greater numbers, like the 6 Formidable class stealth frigates of the Republic of Singapore Navy, instead of a paltry 3 ex-OPVs built for people with small statue.

The Choice of Names for A Man-of-War

While naming your ship is nobody else's business, it would be glaringly obvious to anyone that you do not give a ship a name that could offend others, including your neighbour. Imagine how would China react if Japan suddenly decided to name her helicopter carrier the JDS Yasukuni or how Japan would feel if the USN decided to name one of her destroyers USS Hiroshima. I mean you simply do not choose provocative or inappropriate names for your ships as they carry your flag and are considered an extension of your country's sovereignty everywhere it goes. When docking in a foreign country, it is like a piece of your land floating into the port of call. It is like a foreign embassy in any country.

Unfortunately, the Indonesian politicians cannot understand simple diplomatic principles with their pea brains. Maybe they don't even have a brain! They have been asked repeatedly by their Singapore counterparts, the Minister for Defense and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, what point are they trying to prove by naming their frigate after 2 terrorists? Why try to revive painful memories after almost half a century when the case had long been considered closed and bilateral relationship have prospered? Why risk aggrieving your 4th largest trade partner and your immediate neighbour? The reaction from the Indonesian ministers are even more shocking. The Indonesian Foreign Minister thought it was not a big deal since " the ships have not even arrived "and claimed that the naming was not done with malice and chided Singapore for over reacting. Going along with his stupid logic, what then AFTER the ship has arrived?

Just to illustrate how silly Indonesian politicians are, in 2013 when severe haze and smog from man-made forest fires in Indonesia's Riau Province blanketed large parts of Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand, protests from Singapore was ridiculed, with the Indonesian minister saying that Singapore should be thankful for all the oxygen ( generated from Indonesia's vast rainforests ) and stop grumbling about haze and air pollution that they had to endure for a few months every year during the dry season. Sadly he was just not intelligent enough to understand that by allowing his peat lands and rainforests to go up in flames, he accelerates global warming and in turn rising sea levels will result in inundation of several thousands of Indonesia's islands. A 0.5m rise in sea level will submerge 4 to 5 thousand of Indonesia's roughly 17000 islands, according to a newspaper report last week.

The Big Brother Syndrome

With a population of 237 million people, Indonesia is the 4th most populous nation on Earth and the most populous muslim country. It is also the biggest in terms of land mass among the South East Asian nations, rich in natural resources like oil and gas, timber and minerals. As a result, it always aspires to be the Big Brother of the region. Unfortunately, inept leaders, graft, poor infrastructure and many other factors prevented it from asserting its rightful influence on its neighbours.

Regional Map of South East Asia showing the geographical location and relative sizes of Indonesia Malaysia and Singapore. From Google Maps. 

 

Suharto probably felt snubbed by tiny Singapore when his clemency plea to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment was rejected. It would have given him a boost in status as the new President should he be successful in saving Indonesian lives abroad. So as a face saving measure, the marines were bestowed national hero status. Why should Suharto or anybody care about the death of two lowly marines otherwise? They were not even under his orders when the crime was committed.

It was a hard decision to proceed with the execution but Singapore could not be seen acceding to the wishes of bigger and more powerful nations just because they demanded and let's not forget that every other country is bigger than Singapore in the region! * Naturally, there were talks among Indonesian ultra-nationalist about invading Singapore but they never materialized. Although Singapore gained independence in Aug 1965, 2 months before the execution of the marines, the British forces were still stationed in Singapore and did not withdraw until 1971. By then the newly formed Singapore Armed Forces had already taken over the task of protecting the nation. * Even President Clinton was not successful in his plea not to cane American Michael Fay for his theft and graffiti offenses in 1994, only a reduction of 2 strokes, from 6 to 4.

Though bilateral ties had improved following the symbolic flower sprinkling on the graves by PM Lee Kuan Yew in 1973 and the subsequent formation of ASEAN in 1977, Indonesia had never shaken itself from this Big Brother mentality. After Suharto, President B.J. Habibie famously coined the phrase "Little Red Dot" when referring to Singapore during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998, in relation to how Singapore appeared on the world map. He did not think highly of Singapore, all of then 3 million people, pitted against his 211 million, not as a friend, apparently. However, a few months after that remark was made, when the crisis deepened and the Indonesian rupiah lost its value against the dollar by 15% overnight, it was tiny tiny Singapore that offered to provide 15 billion dollars of loan to Indonesia. This loan offer was never taken up in the end, perhaps Habibie was just too proud to eat his words and rather prefer to impose the tough reforms dictated by IMF.

As of today, the Indonesian lawmakers have refused to back down and rename the vessel. Although as the Indonesians always claimed, they have a right to name their ship whatever name they wished, they failed to take into account the feelings of their neighbours and how this could harm bilateral relationships. Some openly criticize Singapore for being arrogant because of her strong armed forces, but we all know that that is not true. Were it not for a strong Singapore Armed Forces, Big Brother Indonesia would have gobbled up Singapore loooooooong ago. Just look at Dutch New Guinea which was annexed by Jakarta in 1969 under dubious circumstances. It was subsequently called Irian Jaya but is now split into 2 separate provinces Papua and West Papua.

Final Word

Singapore should really thank her lucky stars to have such a pea-brained neighbour. Because if they were to be any smarter, with their vast natural resources and population, they would have dwarfed and snuffed Singapore of her existence. The fact that Singapore continues to enjoy phenomenal growth and stability has a lot to do with lazy, corrupt and stupid neighbours. Singapore should just forget about this silly cheap old ship and move on. There is not much point to dwell in the past. Apart from banning KRI Usman-Harun from entering her territorial waters, naval bases and ports, Singapore should concentrate on diversifying her trade and diplomatic relationship with other countries and gradually reduce any real or perceived dependency on Indonesia. It is difficult to do business with a partner who does not understand anything about synergism and mutual benefits.