DIMDEX 2026: Qatar announces Indonesian frigate agreement

The first MİLGEM frigate Istanbul . (Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Qatari Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced during the DIMDEX 2026 show held in Doha on 19 January that the Barzan Holdings company has signed a USD1 billion purchase agreement with Türkiye's Tais Shipyards for two frigates for an international customer it did not identify.

Tais posted on LinkedIn that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Barzan Holdings related to a frigate project of unspecified value. Tais declined to comment further when asked for more detail by Janes.

On the following day, Barzan Holdings used its Instagram account to identify the Indonesian National Armed Forces as the customer for a USD1 billion procurement agreement it had signed with Tais without saying what it covered.

During the Indo Defence Expo in June 2025, Barzan Holdings announced that it had signed contracts and agreements to supply the Indonesian National Armed Forces with weapons and ammunition worth QAR5 billion (USD1.37 billion).

Türkiye's Secretariat of Defence Industries (SSB) made a similar announcement during the IDEF show held in Istanbul in July 2025, saying Tais had signed a contract with the Indonesian MoD for two MİLGEM İstif-class frigates.

The first MİLGEM frigate, Istanbul, was built by the Istanbul Shipyard and was commissioned by the Turkish Naval Forces in January 2024. Tais, a consortium that includes the Anadolu, Sedef, and Sefine shipyards, is currently building the next three MİLGEM frigates for the Turkish Naval Forces.

The Indonesian shipyard PT PAL is currently building the first of two significantly larger frigates based on Babcock's Arrowhead 140 design that will make extensive use of Turkish sensors and systems.

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Indonesia signs contract for two Istanbul-class frigates