Indonesia’s submarine KRI Nanggala-402 sank in the Bali Sea last month during a torpedo exercise, killing all 53 personnel aboard.
Nanggala is one of Indonesia’s two Cakra-class submarines, developed by German shipbuilding company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in 1977. The Indonesian Navy commissioned the submarines in 1981. Both submarines have been in service for 40 years.
After Nanggala went missing, Indonesia immediately began a search assisted by other countries. However, after discovering the submarine debris on April 24 2021, Indonesia declared it sunk. The submarine and its personnel are, thus, “on eternal patrol”.
The Indonesian government is left with lessons it should act on in future defence planning to reduce the odds of, as well as prepare for, future accidents. Of the many lessons, two major ones are as follows.
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