Babcock has received its first work order under the £4 billion ($5.3 billion) Maritime Partnership Programme (MPP) established between the United Kingdom and Indonesia.
Launched in November 2025, the MPP is designed to support Indonesia’s domestic construction of naval and fishing vessels while leveraging British shipbuilding expertise and technology transfer.
As the program’s lead industrial partner, Babcock is set to deliver licenses for two Arrowhead 140 frigates to Indonesia in the coming months. This follows the export of two earlier Arrowhead 140 licenses in 2021, which enabled Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL to begin construction of the Merah Putih-class frigates.
The lead vessel, KRI Balaputradewa (322), was launched in December 2025, with work progressing on the second ship. Building on this momentum, a letter of intent was signed in January 2026 covering licenses for two additional frigates, increasing the planned Merah Putih-class fleet to four vessels.
Designed for multi-domain operations, the Arrowhead 140 frigate supports anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare missions, along with electronic warfare, naval gunfire, and integrated air defense tasks.
The frigate measures approximately 140 meters in length and 19.8 meters in beam, with a standard displacement of around 6,000 tonnes. Powered by a combined diesel-and-diesel (CODAD) propulsion system, it is capable of reaching speeds of up to 28 knots.
