Indonesia to Salvage 57 mm Gun from Training Ship for Firing Range

The Indonesian Navy is salvaging a 57 mm naval gun from a soon-to-be-retired training ship. The weapon will be installed at a naval gunfire range under development in East Java (photo : NewsBalikpapan)

The Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut: TNI-AL) has submitted plans to retire a Yugoslavian-built training ship, and salvage its 57 mm Bofors naval gun, to the country's defence ministry for approval.

The service intends to install the naval gun at a land-based naval gunfire range that will be built in Paiton, East Java, two separate sources close to the matter have confirmed with Jane's .

The ship in question is KRI Ki Hajar Dewantara (364), which was commissioned by the service in October 1981. The vessel has been non-operational since 2017. Given that it will be decommissioned without residual value, a formal approval from the defence ministry is required before the retirement processes can commence. This is in line with Indonesian government regulations, a TNI-AL source told Jane's .

A computer-generated visualisation of one of the facilities that will be built within the naval gunfire range and simulator complex at Paiton, East Java (image : Jane's)

Ki Hajar Dewantara has an overall length of 96.7 m, an overall beam of 11.2 m, a hull draught of 4.8 m, and displaces 2,000 tonnes at full load. While in training service, the ship had a crew complement of 190, including 11 officers and 14 instructors, and could accommodate up to 100 cadets for training missions.

Besides a 57 mm naval gun in the primary position, the vessel is also two Rheinmetall 20 mm cannons, two 533 mm torpedo tubes, and two launchers amidships that can deploy the Aerospatiale Exocet MM38 anti-ship missile.

Once decommissioned, Ki Hajar Dewantara will be donated to the City of Surabaya. Jane's has not received confirmation of what the local government intends to do with the vessel, but local media reports suggest that it will be converted into a floating tourist attraction, incorporating a maritime museum and a restaurant.