TSAMTO, May 13. An Indonesian consortium led by the state-owned company PT Pindad in Banyuwangi (East Java) announced the launch of a prototype fire support boat / "tank-armored boat" X18 (Tank Boat).
According to PT Pindad, the program is being implemented with the support of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense. According to Jane's Navy International, the concept of the 18-meter "tank-armored boat" was first presented by the Indonesian shipbuilding company PT Lundin in 2014. Indonesian companies that joined the project later included PT Pindad, state-owned electronics company PT Len, and private engineering firm PT Hariff. The full-size model of the boat was first demonstrated at the Indo Defense 2016 exhibition in Jakarta.
According to the specification provided by PT Pindad in a statement dated April 29, 2021, the boat can accommodate up to 60 paratroopers and five crew members. The vessel with a catamaran-type hull develops a maximum speed of 40 knots, the maximum cruising range is about 600 nautical miles at a speed of 9 knots.
Unlike the mock-up that was shown at Indo Defense 2016, the prototype is armed with a Cockerill 3030 remote-controlled weapon module with a 30 mm gun and a 7.62 mm machine gun paired with it, instead of the Cockerill CT-CV 105HP with a 105 mm tank gun.
It is expected that the armored boat will be able to support operations conducted by the Indonesian Armed Forces along rivers and off the coast, as well as perform tasks as part of the Coast Guard.
So far, neither the Land Forces nor the Indonesian Navy have formulated requirements for this class of vessels in their doctrines and development plans. It can be assumed that the prototype of the" tank-armored boat " X18 will be mainly used as a test bed for evaluating the detection tools and weapons systems developed by PT Pindad and PT Len.
