On 26 February, the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) submitted for approval to the Parliament the ministerial decree concerning the free transfer of the decommissioned Garibaldi aircraft carrier to the Indonesian MoD. Italy is further supporting the strengthening of the Indonesian Navy with other programs in cooperation with the local industry, according to the dossier accompanying the submission.
Among the “finalization of further naval contracts,” the dossier highlights the supply of “six class DGK submarines,” to be provided by the Italian company Drass.
No further details are provided by the dossier and the company is not commenting, but according to the information collected by Naval News, the contractualization is in the latest stage, after having finalized the export credit loan, bringing the programme to the execution phase. The programme is moving quickly thanks to the relationship and trust that grew up thanks to the Garibaldi transfer project, according to a source near to it.
The estimated value of $480 million indicated in the dossier regards only the first tranche contract – including two boats plus support and training – of the programme, which according to the information obtained by Naval News, is worth approximately $1.4 billion for the delivery of the six compact submarines in addition to training and logistics support.
On February 17, Republik Palindo of Indonesia and Drass signed “the Framework Agreement for the DGK submarine,” during the IDEX 2025 exhibition in UAE at the Italian Industries Federation for Aerospace, Defence and Security (AIAD) and the Italian MoD National Armaments Directorate (DNA) stand. According to the same press statement, “this partnership represents a key step in supporting the Indonesian Navy’s strategic requirement for enhanced underwater deterrence through the upcoming serial production of midget attack submarines, reinforcing our shared commitment to delivering state-of-the-art subsea technology. As a trusted leader in high-tech underwater systems, Drass is proud to further strengthen its longstanding relationship with Indonesia in this critical domain.”
Indonesia will represent the launch customer for the new boat developed by Drass and a huge boost for the company on the international market.
With an overall length and height of respectively 34 and 7 meters, a hull diameter (equal to overall width) of approximately 3.5 meters and a surface displacement of 219 tons (ca 270 tons submerged), the new generation DGK compact submarine represents “a paradigm shift in the underwater warfare, combining the capabilities required in littoral waters, such as surveillance and special forces support, while maintaining significant deterrence value in blue waters, as it is equipped with weapon systems, command and control and sensors equivalent to those of conventional submarines, yet is less detectable by sonar thanks to its smaller size,” claims Drass. Although the boat is not designed for long-range ocean crossings, this limitation is not expected to represent a problem given Indonesia’s huge islands archipelago configuration, according to a source close to the program.
The compact dimensions and the exceptional quietness of the DGK, make it a formidable underwater target, Drass claims, avoiding detection even by advanced anti-submarines platforms. It can safely operate submerged in as little as 20 meters sea waters, further enhancing its capabilities, and reach an operational depth of over 200 metres. Combining an excellent L/D parameter value (Length/Diameter) and the X-rudder configuration for the stern hydroplanes, the craft features optimal manoeuvrability, alongside propeller boss vortex diffuser and other key features to minimize acoustic signature, essential for operations in littoral and restricted waters. The stern free-circulating are of the hydrodynamic hull sees the positioning of the two aft ballast tanks, duly designed to guarantee buoyancy in the case of damage.
With a fully redundant power and electric plant with reliable power generating sets and lithium-ion batteries, the new compact submarine has a maximum submerged, on surface and submerged cruising speed of respectively 15, 9 and 4 knots, a cruising range (snorkeling/submerged) of over 2,000 nm and submerged range (on batteries) of almost 100 nm.
Characterized by reconfigurable payload bays, and deck bays for additional special forces equipment, the DGK features an escape trunk for deployment of special forces and reconfigurable tanks for extended missions. It can transport up to 6+1 special forces operators in addition to a crew of 9, the same company’s DS8 swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) on the deck behind the sail, and different mission payloads including diver gear containers, AUV or ROV, for a total of 5 tons of equipment.
Equipped with an integrated platform management system and command management system under development by Drass itself with the cooperation of niche suppliers, the DGK has a full electric sail with five masts and a command and control with five operator consoles managing a full sensor and navigation suite including conformal array passive sonar, forward looking sonar, interception sonar (optional), electronic warfare suite with radar warning receiver and electronic support measure (ESM) direction finding (optional), communications suite with underwater HF, UHF/VHF and SATCOM (optional), intercom voice/data network systems, and navigation suite with INS, doppler velocity log, echo sounder and sound velocity profiler.
The weapon package includes two bow-mounted torpedo launchers with ready-to-fire wire-guided heavyweight torpedoes, and two additional as option externally mounted launchers for the same or other weapons and systems. It can also carry racks for up to six neutrally buoyant mine.
Configured in sections with no compromise on structural integrity, the DGK can be covertly transported by road, facilitating maintenance and repair of onboard systems.
The DGK, as anticipated, can carry a DS8 SDV developed and built also by Drass, of which two were recently delivered to the Indonesian Navy, out of a planned component of six, according to information collected by Naval News, further enhancing its special forces and underwater warfare capabilities in littoral contested waters.
Naval News comments
The procurement of the Drass components of DGK and SDVs is a huge boost without precedents respectively to the underwater warfare and special forces operations capabilities of Indonesian Navy. These procurements are expected to have significant impacts on both local and Italian industries.
In the surface domain, although not reported by the dossier, a first additional development for Fincantieri and Italian industry is expected to concerns the in-service support contract for the two PPA/MPCS vessels. The document also refers to the supply of three maritime patrol aircraft for approximately €450 million, without providing details on supplier and platform.
The Italian Leonardo group recently announced the signing of a letter of intent with PT ESystem Solutions Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Defense for the delivery and support of an undisclosed fleet of M-346F Block 20 light combat/advanced trainer aircraft which can be armed with air-to-surface weapon systems for littoral warfare, with an estimated contract value of around €600 million according to the dossier.
