By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
Indonesia's
stated desire to procure Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) from Türkiye could one day also see an interest in the
Bayraktar TB3, which was designed as a heavier version of the TB2 that
can operate from aircraft carriers and landing helicopter docks
(LHDs). [1] The Indonesian Navy has already experimented with deploying the
indigenous LSU-02 UAV from the helicopter deck of one of its
Diponegoro-class corvettes. Although the LSU-02 could only take-off from
the vessel and in no way represents an operational capability, the test
appears to indicate that Indonesia is interested in operating shipborne
fixed-wing UAVs in addition to VTOL examples.
The Indonesian Navy currently operates a fleet of six landing platform
docks (LPDs), two of which are outfitted as hospital ships. Three of
the LPDs were constructed by state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia,
which acquired the license to construct the Makassar-class from Dae Sun Shipyard in South Korea. In June 2014 PT PAL
signed a $92 million contract for the delivery of two LPDs to the
Philippine Navy. [3] Although delivered without many of the systems
considered standard on contemporary ships in Western navies, the low
unit price of roughly $45m means that these ships are now actually
financially attainable for countries like Indonesia and the Philippines.
It
is currently believed that the Indonesian Navy intends to procure
several landing platform helicopter vessels (LPHs) in the coming decade.
In 2018 PT PAL unveiled a 244-metres long LPH design that will likely
form the basis of the design that will be offered to the Indonesian
Navy. [4] Similar to the Turkish 232-metres long TCG Anadolu LHD, the LPH design features a
large aft elevator that can move helicopters and large U(C)AVs to the
flight deck or hangar. Designed to be deployed from LHDs and LPHs from the onset, the Bayraktar TB3 could operate from Indonesia's LPHs without any design
modifications required. Due to their small
size and foldable wings, numerous TB3s could be deployed on the ships
along with ASW helicopters and other drones to provide Indonesia with
its first (unmanned) aircraft carrier.
The
TB3 can stay in the air for up to 24 hours while boasting a
280kg
payload capacity. [5] This could either consist of up to six MAM
munitions, including the MAM-T with a 30+km range, SUNGUR air-to-air missiles to target enemy drones and helicopters, a maritime
surveillance radar or a combination of these. This enables the TB3 to
engage enemy naval vessels, support amphibious landings and carry out
maritime surveillance. The expected low unit price of Indonesia's LPHs
(similar to its LPDs) in combination with the acquisition of TB3s could
open up up entirely new possibilities for the Indonesian Navy. In that sense, the mere takeoff of a UAV from a helicopter deck represents a far cry from a true UCAV deployment capability from a dedicated LPH, which offers vastly increased force projection abilities.
![]() |
A LSU-02 UAV takes off from the helicopter deck of the Diponegoro-class corvette. |
In this light, the possible acquisition of cheap dual-use LPHs along with cheap Bayraktar TB3s presents both a more cost-effective and less risky way of introducing a fixed-wing sea-based reconnaissance and armed capability. If proven successful, a future expansion of capabilities through the introduction of the jet-powered Bayraktar Kızılelma UCAV could ensure Indonesia stays at the forefront of modern maritime abilities in exchange for the lowest possible investment.
[1] Indo Defence 2022: Baykar in talks with Indonesian government on Bayraktar TB2, Akinci UAVs https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/indo-defence-2022-baykar-in-talks-with-indonesian-government-on-bayraktar-tb2-akinci-uavs
[3] Philippine Navy Commissions New Ships in 118th Anniversary Celebration https://thediplomat.com/2016/06/philippine-navy-commissions-new-ships-in-118th-anniversary-celebration/
[5] BAYRAKTAR TB3 https://baykartech.com/en/bayraktar-tb3/