The lyrics of the defense equipment, but do not continue to the transaction stage, apparently it doesn't just happen in this era. In the 1970s, a document explained that Indonesia had been interested in acquiring Barbel Class diesel-electric submarines from the United States.
The Barbel Class was the last diesel submarine to be produced and operated in the US, after a complete switch to nuclear-powered submarines.
From the captured document released by the Twitter account @LembagaKERIS (12/5/2022), it was stated that in 1974 Indonesia was interested in Gearing Class destroyers and Barbel Class submarines. Precisely after Indonesia's political direction shifted to the West after the G30S, Washington showered Indonesia with a defense system sales package through the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) program.
In the marine sector, one of the first debuts of the FMS program was the acquisition of four destroyers escorts (destroyer escorts) Samadikun Class (aka – Claud Jones Class corvettes).
Like continuing the Samadikun Class corvette FMS program, Indonesia seems also interested in polishing its submarine fleet, which suffered a setback after the Soviet Whiskey Class submarines were cut off from supply of spare parts after the change from the Old Order to the New Order.
The Barbel Class, which at that time was in its 'golden age', seemed to be ogled by Indonesia. It is not clear whether Indonesia is interested in buying new or used, although judging from the timing of the acquisition and Indonesia's financial condition, it makes more sense for Indonesia to buy a used Barbel Class. In the document capture, it is stated that Indonesia is interested in buying 4 units of Barbel Class, however, in fact, Barbel Class is only produced 3 units.
It seems that Indonesia's desire is only limited to initial talks, the article is that 1974 was the golden period of the Barbel Class, and the US seems to have no plans to sell the submarine, or at the earliest, there is only the potential to sell it to other countries in the next 10 years.
The Barbel Class was the first production submarine to be built with a teardrop-shape hull, and the first to incorporate a control room, combat information center and control tower in the same space in the hull.
The Barbell Class features a double hull design with 1.5-inch thick HY80 steel. This class of submarines became part of the US Navy fleet in 1959 and officially retired in 1988-1990, since then the US Navy has transitioned into the era of fully nuclear-powered submarines.
The Barbel Class consists of USS Barbel (SS-580), USS Blueback (SS-581) and USS Bonefish (SS-582). Uniquely, each ship is made by a different shipyard, USS Barbel is made by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, USS Blueback is made by Ingalls Shipbuilding and USS Bonefish is made by New York Shipbuilding.
The lead of the Barbel Class, namely the USS Barbel, was launched on July 19, 1958 and entered the service of the US Navy on January 17, 1959. After a long period of service, the USS Barbel officially retired on December 4, 1989. Now only one unit can still be seen, which is used as a museum collection. at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, namely the USS Blueback, which has been in the museum's collection since 1994.
The Barbell Class weighs 2,146 tons on the surface and 2,637 tons on the side. The overall length is 66.80 meters and the width is 8.8 meters. The Barbel Class is powered by 3× Fairbanks-Morse Diesel engines, 2× General Electric electric motors and 4× 126-cell GUPPY IA batteries.
This submarine can go a maximum of 14 knots at the surface, 12 knots at periscope depth and 18.5 knots at full dive. Barbel Class can sail as far as 26,000 km at a speed of 10 knots.
The Barbel Class is manned by 8 officers and 69 crew members. Speaking of endurance, this submarine can dive for 102 hours at a speed of 3 knots and 90 minutes when diving at full speed.
Barbel Class can dive to a maximum depth of 700 meters. Speaking of weapons, this submarine is equipped with six 533 mm caliber torpedo launcher tubes. In one voyage, this submarine can carry 22 units of torpedoes.
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