Navy orders local stealth ships

SURABAYA: The November 10 Institute of Technology (ITS) and state shipbuilder PT PAL are due to start the construction of two radar-evading corvettes for the Navy.

ITS rector Mohammad Nuh said a memorandum of understanding on the joint project would be inked during the 45th anniversary of the institute on Thursday.

The collaborative venture, he said, followed a series of meetings initiated by the Ministry of Defense, which wants to boost the country's self-reliance in the defense sector, particularly stealth technology for Navy warships.

Nuh said the government has delayed the purchase of two corvettes from the Netherlands to support the project. Each of the Dutch warships would cost US$340 million.

He declined to reveal the value of each warship to be built by domestic experts, but the research alone would cost the state between Rp 700 million (US$70,000) and Rp 1 billion. -- Antara