Ridzwan Rahmat
The chief of the Indonesian Navy (Tentera Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) has confirmed that the Klewang-class stealth patrol ship programme has resumed and that the service will operate a class of at least four vessels.
Admiral Marsetio, chief of staff of the TNI-AL, confirmed the plans in an interview with IHS Jane's at the Indonesian Armed Forces headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on 14 August.
The stealth trimaran programme was suspended after first-of-class KRI Klewang was gutted by fire and damaged beyond repair at a naval port in Banyuwangi, East Java, weeks after its official launch on 31 August 2012. The vessel was still undergoing sea trials. There were no casualties in that incident but Indonesia's defence ministry suspended the programme indefinitely pending further investigations into the cause of the fire.
The Indonesian government has not released the results of the investigation into the fire but IHS Jane's understands that a new hull material, described by Saab as a "nanocomposite compound" that is stronger and stealthier, was chosen partly to mitigate the effects of similar calamities in the future.
Read the full story at IHS Jane's 360