Fincantieri inks $1.3B deal with Indonesia for two patrol ships

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced March 28 it signed a contract to provide the Indonesian Navy with two 4,900-ton PPA ships, although the government has not yet funded the purchase.

The contract, which is worth €1.2 billion (U.S. $1.3 billion), will see two PPA multipurpose offshore patrol vessels originally destined for the Italian Navy allocated to Indonesia instead.

A Fincantieri news release stated the two 143-meter-long ships “are currently under construction and fitting at the integrated shipyard in Riva Trigoso-Muggiano.”

Defense News reported in October that Italy was in talks with Indonesia over this sale. At the time, Junior Defense Minister Matteo Perego di Cremnago said: “It is not clear which of the vessels would go to Indonesia; that depends on when a contract is signed.”

“This contract is a milestone for the development of a strategic partnership between our group and Indonesia,” Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said, adding this would be the “first of many significant collaborative opportunities” with Indonesia.

Fincantieri said it is the prime contractor and will “coordinate [with] other industrial partners, including Leonardo, for the customization of the ships’ combat system and the provision of related logistic services.”

However, under Indonesia’s procurement process, the signing of this contract does not constitute a final purchase agreement. Indeed, the shipbuilder noted this contract “is subject to the necessary authorizations from the competent authorities.”

Fincantieri announced in June 2021 that it had won an Indonesian contract for six 6,600-ton FREMM-class frigates and two secondhand Maestrale-class frigates. Discussions for the ships are ongoing, but there is not yet a financed deal for the FREMMs.

The Italian Navy’s PPA vessel Francesco Morosini toured Southeast Asia last year, including stops in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. The shipbuilder said Jakarta’s interest stemmed from this campaign.

The Indonesian Navy has ordered two PPA offshore patrol vessels from Fincantieri. The ship type features a naval cockpit on the bridge. (Gordon Arthur/Staff)

The Italian Navy has ordered seven PPA vessels in three configurations: light; light plus; and full. The light plus variant adds an anti-air warfare capability, while the full version includes an ability to prosecute anti-submarine missions, too.

The platform features a naval cockpit, situated within a diamond-shaped bridge, to reduce bridge crewing.

The service has received three PPAs, and the shipyard has launched a further three.

The final two are slated for commissioning in August 2025 and August 2026, respectively.

With the two offshore patrol vessels under construction in Italy, there will be minimal opportunities for Indonesia’s state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL to participate in the program. However, the firm is currently building two 6,540-ton Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates for the Indonesian Navy under a $720 million contract signed in May 2021. These use Babcock International’s Arrowhead 140 design.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——意大利造船商芬坎蒂尼造船厂于3月28日宣布，已签署合同向印度尼西亚海军提供两艘4900吨级的PPA舰艇，但印尼政府尚未为此采购提供资金。

这份价值 12 亿欧元（13 亿美元）的合同将把原本交付给意大利海军的两艘 PPA 多用途近海巡逻舰分配给印度尼西亚。

芬坎蒂尼集团发布的新闻稿称，这两艘 143 米长的船舶“目前正在里瓦特里戈索-穆贾诺的综合造船厂进行建造和装配”。

《防务新闻》10月份报道称，意大利正与印度尼西亚就这笔军售进行谈判。当时，意大利国防部副部长马泰奥·佩雷戈·迪·克雷姆纳戈表示：“目前还不清楚哪些舰艇会交付给印度尼西亚；这取决于何时签署合同。”

“这份合同是我们集团与印度尼西亚之间战略伙伴关系发展的一个里程碑，”芬坎蒂尼集团首席执行官皮埃罗贝托·福尔杰罗表示，并补充说这将是与印度尼西亚“众多重要合作机会中的第一个”。

芬坎蒂尼表示，它是主承包商，并将“与包括莱昂纳多在内的其他工业合作伙伴协调，以定制舰艇的作战系统并提供相关的后勤服务”。

然而，根据印尼的采购流程，签署这份合同并不构成最终的购买协议。事实上，造船厂指出，这份合同“须经主管部门的必要授权”。

芬坎蒂尼集团于2021年6月宣布，已赢得印尼的一份合同，将建造六艘6600吨级的FREMM级护卫舰和两艘二手Maestrale级护卫舰。目前双方仍在就这些舰艇进行磋商，但FREMM级护卫舰的融资协议尚未达成。

意大利海军的PPA舰艇“弗朗切斯科·莫罗西尼”号去年访问了东南亚，停靠了马来西亚、菲律宾、新加坡、泰国、越南和印度尼西亚等国。造船厂表示，雅加达的兴趣正是源于此次访问。

印尼海军已向芬坎蒂尼造船厂订购了两艘PPA型近海巡逻舰。该型舰艇的舰桥上设有海军驾驶舱。（戈登·阿瑟/摄）

意大利海军已订购七艘PPA型舰艇，分为三种配置：轻型、轻型加强型和全功能型。轻型加强型增加了防空作战能力，而全功能型则具备反潜作战能力。

该平台设有一个海军驾驶舱，位于菱形舰桥内，以减少舰桥人员数量。

该船队已获得三份购电协议，造船厂又下水了三艘。

最后两艘船计划分别于 2025 年 8 月和 2026 年 8 月投入使用。

由于意大利正在建造两艘近海巡逻舰，印尼国有造船企业PT PAL参与该项目的机会微乎其微。然而，该公司目前正在为印尼海军建造两艘6540吨级的伊弗·休特费尔特级护卫舰，合同金额为7.2亿美元，于2021年5月签署。这两艘护卫舰采用的是巴布科克国际公司的Arrowhead 140设计。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。