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Indonesia's first PPA, Prabu Siliwangi , seen here at its naming ceremony. (Fincantieri)
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri is on track to deliver the first of two multirole offshore patrol ships (Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura: PPA) on order for the Indonesian Navy by mid-2025.
A milestone to mark the vessels' progress towards delivery was marked on 29 January when a renaming ceremony for both ships was held at Fincantieri's Riva Trigoso-Muggiano shipyard. This milestone was announced by Fincantieri via an official social media page on the same day.
The ship, formerly known as Marcantonio Colonna, has now been renamed Brawijaya with pennant number 320, while the vessel formerly known as Ruggiero di Lauria is now called Prabu Siliwangi with pennant number 321.
Both vessels are set to be the largest warships in service with the Indonesian Navy once they are commissioned in the latter part of 2025.
Fincantieri first disclosed in March 2024 that it has signed a EUR1.18 billion (USD1.23 billion) contract for two PPAs with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD).
The PPA is a class of 143 m frigate-like warships that can be configured for a wide spectrum of missions ranging from ‘light' low-tempo maritime surveillance operations to ‘full combat' higher-end warfighting scenarios.
Also referred to as the Thaon di Revel class, the Italian Navy has thus far commissioned three units that were inducted between March 2022 and September 2023.
At the vessels' renaming ceremony, Indonesian Navy's Chief of Staff Admiral Muhammad Ali described the PPA programme as a significant milestone in the country's bid to modernise its armed forces.
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