Babcock International has secured its first work order under the £4-billion ($5.3-billion) Maritime Partnership Programme (MPP) between the United Kingdom and Indonesia, marking an important milestone in bilateral naval industrial cooperation. Launched in November 2025, the MPP is designed to strengthen Indonesia’s domestic shipbuilding capacity while leveraging British expertise in warship design and construction.
As the lead industrial partner, Babcock is set to deliver two additional Arrowhead 140 frigate licenses to Indonesia in the coming months. This follows the successful export of two Arrowhead 140 licenses in 2021, which enabled Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL to begin construction of the Merah Putih-class frigates. The lead vessel, KRI Balaputradewa (322), was launched in December 2025, while work continues on the second ship at PT PAL’s facilities.
Building on this progress, Indonesia and the UK signed a letter of intent in January 2026 for the licensing of two more Merah Putih-class frigates, bringing the total planned fleet to four ships. The Arrowhead 140 design is optimized for multi-domain naval warfare, supporting anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine operations, alongside electronic warfare, naval gunfire, and air defense missions.
The frigate measures 140 meters in length with a beam of 19.8 meters and a standard displacement of approximately 6,000 tons. Powered by a CODAD propulsion system, the vessel can achieve speeds of up to 28 knots, offering Indonesia a modern and versatile surface combatant while reinforcing long-term defense-industrial collaboration under the MPP framework.
