Indonesia Names Submarine after Weapon from Mahabharata Epic

Indonesia has named its first domestically assembled submarine as ‘Alugoro’ meaning ‘club’ in Bahasa language after the weapon of Balaram from the Mahabharat epic.

“The alugoro was the weapon of Baladewa, the older brother of Kresna, the focal figure in the Hindu Mahabharata epic. The weapon, a gada (club) with two pointy ends, was said to have magnificent and massive destructive power. The strength of the weapon inspired the name of Indonesia’s first domestically assembled submarine: KRI Alugoro 405,” an article in Jakarta post said Tuesday

The submarine was launched in June last year underwent its first nominal diving depth (NDD) phase, which is part of the Sea Acceptance Test earlier this month. Built as part of an ongoing US$ 1.1 billion partnership between state-owned shipmaker PT PAL Indonesia and South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.  The first two were built in South Korea while the third was assembled in Indonesia making it the first locally-built submarine.

Indonesian President Jokowi visited state-owned ship maker PT PAL Indonesia Tuesday where he inspected the brand new submarine. "I think this is good collaboration because there is a transfer of technology in the assembly of our Alugoro submarine," Jokowi said during the visit, adding that he hoped the nation could soon fully develop and assemble its own submarines.

The 61.3-meter KRI Alugoro 405 holds 40 crew members and cruise for up to 50 days. With a speed of 11 knots when surfaced and 21.5 knots when under water, the submarine can roam for 18,520 kilometers. The lifespan of the 1,460-ton vessel is projected to be 30 years, according to PT PAL.

The two other submarines, KRI Nagapasa 403 and KRI Ardadedali 404, were built and completed in South Korea in 2017 and 2018, respectively. "The success of assembling the Alugoro submarine has made Indonesia the only country in Southeast Asia to build a submarine," the State Palace said in the statement.

KRI Alugoro 405 underwent a nominal diving depth (NDD) test in North Bali waters on Jan. 21, which is part of the mandatory sea acceptance evaluation. According to the information on PT PAL's website, the NDD went according to plan, as the sub was able to go 250 meters under the surface.