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Indonesia Secures Arrowhead 140 Frigate Design Licences Under £4 Billion Deal with UK.
Indonesia and the United Kingdom have advanced their £4 billion Maritime Partnership Programme with a concrete agreement covering two additional Arrowhead 140 frigate design licences. The move signals a shift from policy alignment to execution, strengthening Indonesia’s naval modernisation plans while anchoring British ship design expertise in Southeast Asia.
On 21 January 2026, Babcock International announced that it had secured the first concrete agreement under its £4 billion Maritime Partnership Programme with Indonesia, covering the sale of two additional Arrowhead 140 frigate design licences. The development, disclosed through an official company statement, gives operational substance to the framework agreed in late 2025 and links British naval design expertise to Indonesia’s long-term maritime ambitions. For the world’s largest archipelagic state, facing persistent security, economic and sovereignty challenges at sea, the expansion of the Arrowhead 140 programme represents a key step in modernising naval capabilities while strengthening domestic shipbuilding and maritime resilience.
Indonesia and the United Kingdom have moved their £4 billion maritime partnership into action, with Babcock International securing a concrete deal to supply two additional Arrowhead 140 frigate design licences that tie British naval design expertise to Indonesia’s long-term naval modernisation and domestic shipbuilding goals (Picture Source: Thales Netherlands)
The agreement provides Indonesia with two further Arrowhead 140 licences and is accompanied by a Letter of Intent outlining plans to construct an additional pair of locally built frigates. Together, these measures would bring the Red White, also known as the Balaputradewa-class, programme to at least four ships. This builds on the original export of two design licences concluded in 2021 and follows the landmark Maritime Partnership Programme announced in November 2025 between Babcock and the Indonesian government. That framework is intended to jointly develop maritime capabilities not only for the Indonesian Navy, but also for sectors linked to fisheries, coastal infrastructure and food security. Signed on behalf of President Prabowo Subianto and Babcock’s chief executive, the Letter of Intent reflects strong political backing and underlines the pace at which discussions with Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence are progressing. The timing is notable, coming only weeks after the launch of KRI Balaputradewa, Indonesia’s first domestically built Arrowhead 140-derived frigate and the largest principal surface combatant ever constructed in the country.
At the centre of this cooperation is the Arrowhead 140 design, a general-purpose frigate derived from the Danish Iver Huitfeldt-class hull and adopted by the Royal Navy as the basis for its Type 31 programme. Measuring roughly 138 to 140 metres in length with a beam of around 20 metres, the design displaces in the region of 6,000 to 7,000 tonnes depending on configuration. Propulsion is provided by a combined diesel-and-diesel arrangement, enabling speeds above 28 knots and long-range endurance suited to sustained deployments. Conceived as a flexible, multi-mission platform, Arrowhead 140 is designed to conduct air defence, anti-ship, anti-submarine and electronic warfare tasks across blue-water and littoral environments. Its open, modular architecture allows each customer navy to integrate national sensors, weapons and combat management systems, combining a proven hull and machinery package with a high degree of customisation.
Indonesia’s Arrowhead 140–derived frigate programme highlights the navy’s effort to combine a proven European design with domestic construction and local requirements. Built by state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL in Surabaya, the ships are based on the Arrowhead 140 hullform while incorporating adaptations intended to support Indonesian operational needs across a vast maritime environment. The design is expected to result in a surface combatant of around 140 metres in length, offering a balanced combination of speed, endurance and mission flexibility for sustained patrol and escort missions. While detailed combat system specifications have not yet been officially disclosed, the programme reflects Indonesia’s broader objective of strengthening naval capabilities through technology transfer, local industrial participation and incremental adaptation of an established frigate platform.
Multifunction and surveillance radars, hull-mounted sonar, decoy launchers and an electronic warfare system provide layered situational awareness and survivability. A large midships section is reserved for a universal vertical launch system intended to house Turkish surface-to-air missiles, complemented by anti-ship missiles and twin triple torpedo launchers. Once fully equipped, the class is expected to rank among the most heavily armed surface combatants in the current Indonesian fleet.
These frigates are emerging at a time when Indonesia faces persistent grey-zone challenges in and around the North Natuna Sea and along key sea lines of communication linking the Malacca Strait to the Pacific. Recurrent incursions by foreign coast guard and fishing vessels into Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone have blurred the boundary between law enforcement and military tasks, placing growing demands on naval forces. In this context, the Red White or Balaputradewa-class frigates are intended to provide the Indonesian Navy with a versatile platform capable of high-end missions such as task group escort and area air defence, while also supporting day-to-day presence operations in contested waters. By embedding the frigate programme within the broader Maritime Partnership Programme, which also addresses fisheries protection and maritime infrastructure, Jakarta is positioning naval modernisation as a tool not only for deterrence but also for safeguarding economic lifelines and coastal communities.
The agreement also aligns with Indonesia’s ongoing shift from the long-standing Minimum Essential Force concept towards the more ambitious Optimum Essential Force objective. While the earlier framework focused on restoring baseline readiness after decades of underinvestment, the newer approach seeks to build a more integrated and technologically capable force by the end of the decade. Within this context, the Maritime Partnership Programme serves as a mechanism to combine capability development with industrial and technological gains. It channels investment into domestic shipbuilding, supports skills transfer in systems integration and complex programme management, and reinforces Indonesia’s strategy of diversifying defence partnerships across Europe, Türkiye and the wider Indo-Pacific.
For the United Kingdom, the deal further consolidates Arrowhead 140 as an international frigate family rather than a single national programme. The same basic design underpins the Royal Navy’s Type 31 and Poland’s future Miecznik-class frigates, demonstrating the export potential of a common naval architecture adaptable to different operational and industrial ecosystems. From an industrial perspective, the partnership supports skilled employment in the UK, particularly at Rosyth, while reinforcing London’s ambition to remain a credible defence partner in the Indo-Pacific.
The first agreement under the Indonesia Maritime Partnership Programme therefore marks a clear step in translating political intent into tangible naval capability and industrial cooperation. With the Red White or Balaputradewa-class on track to become a four-ship core of Indonesia’s future surface fleet, the programme combines an export-proven design with locally generated industrial value and nationally tailored combat systems. For Indonesia, it offers a pathway towards a more credible blue-water presence and stronger control over its maritime domain. For the UK, it demonstrates how long-term defence partnerships and export-oriented shipbuilding can underpin both domestic industry and strategic engagement abroad.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.