The missile was launched from a SIGMA 10514 frigate, KRI R.E. Martadinata (331), at a distance of 66.6km. The target was situated on a small, uninhabited island called Pulau Gundul (Bald Island) located inside the Karimun Jawa island chain in the Java Sea.
According to TNI AL, the Exocet firing was executed under the Navy Chief of Staff’s order for the service to test the full range of its missile capabilities. This live-fire drill was part of the larger Joint Naval Operation Exercise II (Latopslagab II), which involved around 2,000 soldiers, 12 warships, one CN-235 aircraft, four AS565 MBe helicopters, as well as ScanEagle and Camcopter S-100 UAVs.
Notably, TNI AL’s Submarine Operations Command mentioned that a Type-209/Jang Bogo-class submarine, KRI Alugoro (405), participated in the exercise, though no further details about its role were disclosed.
The Latopslagab II also witnessed the Indonesian Marine Corps firing 122mm unguided rockets toward the same island. The rockets were fired from an RM-70 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) positioned on the upper deck of a Landing Ship Tank (LST), KRI Teluk Amboina (503). The crew put additional metal sheets to the deck and activated water hoses to cool the surface from the intense heat generated by the rocket motors.
Furthermore, TNI AL stated that the exercise involved “bomber drones,” which likely refer to first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones and/or bomb-dropping drones.
To note, KRI R.E. Martadinata has been at the forefront of several major exercises in the last two years. For example, in April 2023, the ship fired a VL MICA Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM), which was TNI AL’s first public demonstration of a VLS-based SAM launch. Three months later, in July 2023, KRI R.E. Martadinata joined three other warships and two F-16 fighters in sinking a decommissioned frigate.
Moreover, last November, TNI AL announced the plan to revive or reactivate its old MM38 Exocet stocks. This initiative is part of a missile research program involving researchers from the country’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).
