Babcock Chief Executive for Marine, Sir Nick Hine, outlined the company’s growing international ambitions in an interview with Naval News, highlighting potential opportunities in markets including Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Chile and the Gulf region.

Hine indicated that Babcock is assessing opportunities across several markets, with some discussions being more sensitive than others. He also identified the Gulf as an area receiving particular attention.

According to Hine, many navies across the Asia-Pacific are entering a period of fleet recapitalisation. At the same time, prospective customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated as the concept of a hybrid navy—combining crewed and uncrewed platforms—gains momentum.

He explained that regional navies are adapting rapidly to developments in hybrid warfare and the changing character of maritime operations. As a result, defence companies must also accelerate their development and delivery processes to keep pace with evolving requirements.

Moving Towards a Hybrid Navy

Hine said the integration of uncrewed systems is fundamentally changing naval force design. Rather than treating unmanned aircraft, surface vessels and underwater systems as separate capabilities, Babcock sees them as force multipliers that can operate alongside conventional warships.

In this model, the customer is effectively acquiring an integrated task force rather than simply purchasing an individual frigate. Babcock considers this combination of crewed and uncrewed capabilities to be a key distinction between its offering and those of competitors.

Arrowhead 140’s Growing Appeal

Hine, who previously served as the Royal Navy’s Second Sea Lord, argued that Babcock is not marketing a legacy design. Instead, the company believes the Arrowhead 140 is becoming increasingly attractive to countries seeking modern, adaptable naval capabilities.

He noted that the design is already in production and offers a comparatively affordable route to acquiring a modern frigate. This is particularly significant for navies facing persistent constraints on both budgets and personnel.

The Arrowhead 140 is the basis of the Royal Navy’s five Type 31 frigates, while the design has also been selected by Indonesia and Poland.

Hine believes its combination with uncrewed systems could allow navies to obtain greater capability without a corresponding increase in personnel or expenditure. In his view, the ability to deliver more capability with fewer sailors is becoming increasingly important.

Babcock has also adopted a flexible approach to international production. Depending on the customer, the company can manufacture the complete platform, support domestic construction under licence, or provide the licence while allowing the customer to undertake production independently.

Indonesia provides an example of the partnership model. Through its relationship with PT PAL, Babcock supplies engineering and design assistance during construction of the Indonesian frigates. A similar arrangement exists with Poland’s PGZ.

Hine believes this approach could appeal to additional customers because greater international adoption of the design would create opportunities for a broader global supply chain, greater data exchange and improved interoperability.

Indonesian Ambitions

Indonesia represents one of Babcock’s most significant opportunities. The company’s relationship with Jakarta has expanded through the Maritime Partnership Programme (MPP), initially announced in November 2025. A subsequent letter of intent, signed in January 2026, also provided for two additional Arrowhead 140 licences, supplementing the two licences previously acquired in 2021.

Under the earlier agreement, PT PAL is constructing two Arrowhead 140-based Balaputradewa-class frigates for the Indonesian Navy. The ships are also referred to as Fregat Merah Putih, or “Red White Frigate”.

PT PAL launched the first vessel in Surabaya on 18 December 2025. Both frigates are expected to enter Indonesian service during 2028–29. The vessels are approximately 140 metres long, have a beam of 19.75 metres and a draught of 4.96 metres. Their displacement is around 5,996 tonnes, while roughly 60% of the reference Arrowhead 140 design has reportedly been modified to satisfy Indonesian Navy requirements.

Babcock has described the broader MPP as potentially worth approximately £4 billion. The programme is intended to contribute not only to Indonesia’s naval capabilities but also to domestic shipbuilding, the fishing sector and wider maritime and food security.

Babcock CEO David Lockwood previously said the partnership would focus on strengthening Indonesia’s defence and maritime capabilities, infrastructure and supply chains. He also highlighted the potential for the programme to generate and sustain employment in both Indonesia and the United Kingdom.

Hine described the MPP as a particularly broad initiative. Rather than focusing solely on warships, the programme extends across the maritime economy, from fishing and food production to coastal and offshore security.

Under the concept, Indonesia would require a range of vessels and systems, including inshore patrol vessels, offshore patrol vessels and Arrowhead 140 frigates. These platforms would be supported by maritime-domain-awareness capabilities that allow the various elements to operate as a coordinated system.

Babcock therefore sees the programme as an integrated package rather than a conventional shipbuilding contract. The company can combine different capabilities and technologies while relying substantially on Indonesian suppliers and domestic industrial capacity rather than manufacturing every component itself.

Interestingly, Babcock’s current catalogue does not include dedicated inshore or offshore patrol vessels. Its principal naval offerings include the Arrowhead 140, the Royal Navy’s Type 31 variant and the smaller Arrowhead 120. Nevertheless, the company has previous experience in offshore patrol vessel construction, including the four 90-metre Samuel Beckett-class vessels built for Ireland’s Naval Service.

Hine said he continues to visit Indonesia regularly as the MPP develops. The programme is scheduled to run through 2029, giving the partners a relatively short window in which to deliver its objectives. He also noted that UK Export Finance support is intended to help ensure that implementation proceeds at pace.

Competition in New Zealand

New Zealand represents another important opportunity for the Arrowhead 140. The design has been shortlisted alongside Japan’s upgraded Mogami-class frigate as a candidate to replace the Royal New Zealand Navy’s two ageing Anzac-class frigates.

Hine pointed to the origins of the Royal Navy’s Type 31 programme as evidence of the Arrowhead 140 concept’s suitability for New Zealand. The Type 31 requirement was developed around several objectives: lowering acquisition costs, reducing through-life operating expenses, limiting manpower requirements and providing an adaptable platform capable of incorporating new capabilities over its service life.

Babcock believes these characteristics are particularly relevant to the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Hine nevertheless acknowledged that the company must compete for the programme on its merits. Babcock believes it understands the New Zealand Navy’s operational requirements and considers the Arrowhead 140 a strong match, but its strategy is centred on offering a long-term industrial relationship rather than simply selling a warship.

One potential advantage is Babcock’s longstanding presence within New Zealand’s defence sector. Babcock Australasia has served as the Royal New Zealand Navy’s Strategic Maritime Partner since 1995. The company works with around 600 local suppliers, with approximately NZ$220 million of activity flowing through this industrial network during the past two years.

Babcock also believes that combining the Arrowhead 140 with uncrewed systems could provide New Zealand with a more flexible force structure. Rather than relying solely on a fixed number of large surface combatants, the navy could adjust the balance between crewed ships and uncrewed surface platforms according to operational requirements.

For Babcock, this scalability is central to the hybrid-navy concept: a fleet can increase or reduce the number and type of platforms deployed as missions and strategic circumstances change.

Overall, the company is positioning the Arrowhead 140 not merely as a frigate design, but as the centrepiece of a broader maritime capability model involving domestic industrial participation, international supply chains, uncrewed systems and long-term technology partnerships.