Indonesia is developing its own unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) in a bid to enhance its maritime security, but experts say it faces major challenges in the developmental stage and may not make a big difference even if it is in service.

The indigenous submarine platform, known as the Kaledupa, boasts modern underwater sensors and has an operating depth of 150m, the Jakarta Post reported on Wednesday. It was tested in waters off Sulawesi on Sunday.

… Naval expert Collin Koh told TODAY that the initiative is feasible in theory at least, given that it could utilise a wide variety of commercially available dual-use technologies.

However, the research fellow with the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) added: “What remains to be seen is whether the Indonesian government will sustain the funding for this project until the system reaches full operational capability and is put into broader naval service.

… Defence analyst Richard Bitzinger is even more guarded in his assessment of the Kaledupa programme. He noted that developing indigenous defence technology requires reaching out to foreign firms and this would complicate the developmental process.

“That, in turn, raises issues of technology transfer as the more sophisticated the technology, the greater the restrictions that are likely to be applied to such transfers,” explained Mr Bitzinger, who is the coordinator of the Military Transformations Programme at RSIS.