KRI Brawijaya, the Indonesian Navy’s (TNI AL) first Multipurpose Combat Ship/Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura (PPA) has arrived in Indonesia following a six-week voyage from Italy. The ship now stands as Indonesia’s largest and most advanced principal surface combatant.
The vessel, originally built for the Italian Navy, departed La Spezia, Italy, on July 29, sailing through the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean before arriving at Lampung Naval Base in the southern tip of Sumatra Island via the Sunda Strait.
Along the way, the ship made port visits in Türkiye, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka, demonstrating Indonesia’s ambition to grow its naval partnerships across key maritime regions. For security throughout the voyage, a team of TNI AL special forces was embedded aboard.
En route, KRI Brawijaya performed joint exercises with an Egyptian Navy’s FREMM frigate, ENS Tahya Misr (FFG 1001), and a TNI AL’s Diponegoro-class (SIGMA 9113) corvette, KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda (367), in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ship also conducted joint drills with an Italian Navy Andrea Doria-class air warfare destroyer, ITS Caio Duilio (D 554), near the Red Sea, as well as a UAE Gowind-class corvette UAEN Bani Yas (P110) in the Arabian Sea. Air defense, electronic warfare, and replenishment-at-sea simulations were part of the exercises.
After its arrival in Lampung, KRI Brawijaya will sail to Jakarta for formal events before continuing to Surabaya, East Java, where TNI AL’s 2nd Fleet Command is headquartered. The vessel will be placed under the 2nd Fleet’s operational control upon full commissioning.
As previously reported by Naval News, the ship was delivered in an FFBNW configuration without missiles. However, TNI AL has already expressed its intent to upgrade the frigate to full combat configuration, with the possibility of installing its complete missile system, including Aster 30, domestically.
