North Sea Boats (PT. Lundin) And SAAB Working On An Improved 63m FMPV Trimaran

At DSA 2014, the 14th Defence Services Asia Exhibition and Conference currently held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Indonesian shipyard North Sea Boats (PT. Lundin) and SAAB are showing an updated model of the 63m FMPV Trimaran design ordered by the Indonesian Navy.

Talking to Navy Recognition during DSA 2014, a SAAB representative explained that the Swedish company is planning to fit its new Sea Giraffe 1X 3D radar higher up in the mast for better radar coverage and less limitation because of the curvature of the Earth. This is possible because the new radar is only 150 kilograms. This explains the quite unique shape of the newly designed mast onboard the FMPV (Fast Missile Patrol Vessel) Trimaran. The mast would integrate the radar, the ESM and the communication systems.

Following the accidental destruction of the first-of-class ship KRI Klewang shortly after its launch in 2012, SAAB and North Sea Boats have now signed a partnership for the project. SAAB is planning to offer this turnkey solution to both TNI AL (Indonesian Navy) and for export under the name "Stealth FAC" (Stealth Fast Attack Craft).

According to the SAAB representative, the new FMPV Trimaran would be fitted with
> 4x RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles
> 1x BAE Systems 40Mk4 gun under a stealth cupola
> A stern ramp to deploy a 12 meters RIB
> SAAB's 9LV combat management system
> SAAB's Ceros 200 radar and optronic tracking system
> SAAB's TactiCall Integrated Communications System

The original class (KRI Klewang) was supposed to be fitted with mostly Chinese weapons and systems. PT Lundin representatives at DSA 2014 told Navy Recognition that officially, the Indonesian Navy is still evaluating which weapons and sensors should be fitted onboard the updated Trimaran design.

RBS15 Mk3 is a fire-and-forget, subsonic cruise type missile with all weather capability with a range in excess of 200 Km.

Construction of a new 63m FMPV Trimaran started in February 2014 at the North Sea Boats facility in Indonesia. The newly designed ship should be launched 24 months from now. According to SAAB, a future version may be fitted with an anti-submarine warfare suite (weapons + sensors).

According to a BAE Systems Bofors representative at DSA 2014, this could be the first export case for the new 40Mk4 naval gun system, even though the company is in discussion with other countries as we speak.

We learned that the current order from TNI AL is for 4 vessels, but overall close to 30 units could ultimately be produced for TNI AL alone.