,
Jakarta, Indonesia: The Indonesian Navy plans to buy several modern diesel submarines from Russia, the Antara news agency said Thursday.
The agency quoted Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Slamet Soebijanto as saying that the decision to acquire four Kilo-class and two Amur 950 (Lada-class) submarines had been taken because of Russian-made submarines' advantage over their German and French equivalents in terms of reliability and cost.
The Navy sent a proposal to the Indonesian government in January to purchase 12 diesel submarines from Russia by 2024. First Admiral Abdul Malik Yusuf, the chief spokesman for the Indonesian Navy, said at the time that combat submarines were needed as strategic armaments, enabling the country to maintain security in its territorial waters.
Indonesia's leading magazine, Tempo, earlier said the country's navy has deployed two German-made submarines, although until recently the Indonesian submarine fleet was entirely composed of Soviet-made combat submarines.
The Amur 950 submarine is a smaller version of Project 677 or Lada-class diesel submarine, and is designed to operate in the littoral environment, in deep and shallow waters. The vessel features a new anti-sonar coating for the hull, an extended cruising range, and advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry, including the Club-S cruise missile system.
