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PT PAL Piranha

2025 ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE MODERN NAVY TORPEDO

History

The PT PAL Piranha is an Indonesian lightweight torpedo developed for anti-submarine warfare. PT PAL Indonesia presents the weapon as an indigenous underwater warfare system intended to strengthen domestic capability in maritime defence technology.

The Piranha has a diameter of 324 mm and is described with a stated range of more than 15 km, a maximum speed of about 74 km/h (40 kt), and a 50 kg warhead. The weapon remained under development in 2026, with mass production planned to begin in January 2027.

A major physical milestone occurred on 30 October 2025, when PT PAL conducted a Piranha firing test from its Kapal Selam Otonom, or KSOT, autonomous submarine prototype in Surabaya. The event demonstrated integration of the lightweight torpedo with an unmanned underwater launch platform.

Development and testing

The Piranha forms part of PT PAL Indonesia's broader effort to expand from ship and submarine platform construction toward integrated maritime combat systems. The company has associated the torpedo with development work involving unmanned surface vessels, autonomous underwater vehicles, and mission-system integration.

During the October 2025 test, a 324 mm Piranha round was loaded into an externally mounted starboard launch tube on the KSOT prototype. The autonomous submarine subsequently moved away from the pier and launched the torpedo. The test was attended by Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and other senior defence officials.

Available information does not disclose the Piranha's propulsion system or seeker design. The 2025 firing therefore confirmed physical integration and launch of the weapon but did not establish that the torpedo had entered operational service.

Production plans

On 9 September 2026, PT PAL presented plans for mass production of the Piranha beginning in January 2027. The presentation described the weapon as a lightweight anti-submarine warfare torpedo and provided its stated range, speed, and warhead figures.

As of September 2026, neither PT PAL nor the Indonesian Ministry of Defence had publicly announced a production contract for the Piranha. The January 2027 date therefore represented a planned production milestone rather than confirmed series manufacture.

Design

The Piranha is a 324 mm lightweight torpedo intended primarily for anti-submarine warfare. Its dimensions place it in the common lightweight torpedo diameter class used by compact naval launch systems, although detailed overall length and mass figures have not been disclosed.

The weapon has been demonstrated with the KSOT autonomous submarine prototype. On that platform, the torpedo was carried in an externally mounted starboard launch tube. This arrangement allowed the autonomous underwater vehicle to conduct a torpedo launch without housing the complete weapon-launch system inside its pressure hull.

PT PAL states a range of more than 15 km and a maximum speed of 40 kt. The warhead is stated to weigh 50 kg. Publicly available information does not identify the propulsion method, seeker type, guidance logic, depth envelope, or specific target-acquisition system.

Program status

The Piranha remained a developing Indonesian torpedo program in September 2026. A physical weapon had been fired from the KSOT prototype in October 2025, but no public evidence established operational service or serial production at that time.

PT PAL planned to begin mass production in January 2027. Because no publicly announced production contract accompanied the September 2026 presentation, the planned production date should not be treated as confirmed entry into service.