Indonesia's Scorpène® Evolved set to launch

With 17,000 islands, Indonesia’s maritime space is one of the largest in the world, covering nearly 6 million km² of exclusive economic zone.

In a context of growing threats, the country is seeking to strengthen both its sovereignty at sea and its industrial autonomy. Naval Group has responded with the Scorpène® for the Republic of Indonesia (SRI) program, dedicated to the construction of two Scorpène® Evolved submarines.

“By partnering with Naval Group in an ambitious skills transfer program, Indonesia aims to boost its local economy and strengthen the capabilities of its industrial ecosystem. The agreement signed with PT PAL, an experienced shipyard, will turn these ambitions into reality,” states Vincent Vimont, SRI Program Director.

A tested and adapted design

While making the most of a tried and tested design, the Indonesian Scorpène® Evolved features a number of innovations, including a new engine system and lithium-ion batteries. It also incorporates the Subtics® combat system.

A smooth collaboration

The agreement between the Indonesian Ministry of Defence and the Naval Group–PT PAL consortium ensures optimal collaboration. With a team of eight experts currently (rising to fifty), all acting as reference operators, Naval Group provides skills transfer and continuous technical support. To strengthen collaboration, French–Indonesian pairs have been formed. Learning the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia, is also part of the French team’s program, as linguistic proximity has already proven effective with other international partners.

In France, several Naval Group sites will contribute their specialised expertise: Cherbourg for the hull and platform; Lorient and Nantes-Indret for propulsion and lithium-ion batteries; Ollioules for the combat system; and Angoulême-Ruelle for masts, weapon launch systems and shaft lines. The future submarines will be built in Surabaya, with PT PAL responsible for the hull, equipment integration and testing, up to the handover of the vessels to the Indonesian Navy. The Indonesian shipyard will purchase the majority of the materials, but some specialised components will be supplied from France.

Hull and welding: top-level requirements

When it comes to submarine hulls, the standards are extremely high. The future Indonesian Scorpène® submarines will use the same steel as French attack submarines. This steel requires special parameters, particularly for welding: there are numerous inspection stages, and acceptance criteria are extremely strict to achieve a flawless weld. To meet the challenge, twenty Indonesians from PT PAL underwent two to three months of training in Cherbourg on welding, preheating and quality control, taught by the best experts in the field (see report on the following page).

This training aimed to enable the team to manufacture and qualify a first “pilot” hull sub-section. The start of fabrication for this qualification section was celebrated on 12 December 2025 in Surabaya.