KRI Usman Harun (359)

The Castilian War has become associated with Brunei as a valiant period in the nation's history despite the stark differences between the Brunei narratives. According to this narrative, the Spaniards were eventually pushed away by Bendahara Sakam and a thousand warriors while the Bruneians were routed at the Battle of Muara and the city was occupied. In some ways, Bendahara Sakam is an odd folk hero. He is alleged to have taken Pengiram Seri Ratna's daughter from her wedding to Pengiran Seri Lela's son. He was exiled and in disgrace, but he nevertheless went back and rescued Brunei from the Spanish.[2]

The Bung Tomo-class corvettes are three vessels built by BAE Systems Marine (now BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships). The contract was awarded to GEC-Marconi in 1995 and the ships, a variant of the F2000 design, were launched in January 2001, June 2001 and June 2002 at the then BAE Systems Marine yard at Scotstoun, Glasgow. The customer refused to accept the vessels and the contract dispute became the subject of arbitration. When the dispute was settled in favour of BAE Systems, the vessels were handed over to Royal Brunei Technical Services in June 2007.[3]

In 2007, Brunei contracted the German Lürssen shipyard to find a new customer for the three ships. In 2013, Indonesia bought the vessels for £380 million or around half of the original unit cost.[1]

The ships were originally armed with MBDA Exocet Block II anti-ship missiles and MBDA Seawolf air-defence missiles. The main gun is an OTO Melara 76 mm; the ship also carries two torpedo tubes, two 30 mm remote weapon stations and has a landing spot for a helicopter. As of 2018, the MBDA Seawolf missile was out of service there was plans to replace it with the VL Mica.[4]

The ship was launched as KDB Bendahara Sakam on 23 June 2001, but never commissioned into the Royal Brunei Navy. She was subsequently sold and commissioned into the Indonesian Navy as KRI Usman Harun on 18 July 2014. Her hull number 29 was changed to 359.[5][6]

The Singapore government protested against the naming of the ship, as its namesakes Usman Haji Muhammad Ali and Harun Said had committed the 1965 MacDonald House bombing during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, resulting in three deaths and thirty-three casualties. As they wore civilian clothes and targeted civilians, they were tried for murder and executed. The ship was subsequently banned from entering Singapore ports and sea bases, with the Singapore Armed Forces declining to partake in exercises involving the ship.[7][8][9]