Economic growth in developing countries demands high protection from the possibility of local conflicts, yet the budget in the defense sector, particularly in submarine procurement, is very limited. Therefore, the presence of the small submarine concept seems to be a very promising solution due to its advantages over large nuclear-powered submarines. The notion of a small submarine is not new in the submarine world; the USS Holland, a small submarine, has made a significant contribution in the early submarine design stages. Several well-known submarine builders have expressed their interest in exploring the concept of small submarines to offer to prospective clients. This paper proposes an efficient graphic method to investigate the notion of developing small (midget) naval submarines for developing country such Indonesia. The method incorporates a certain stage to determine what the next generation of small submarine fleets will look like based on a survey of available knowledge. The reasons for utilizing the Joubert model hull or Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) generic conventional submarine as a base design in the investigation are explained. This graphic method approach has been drawn from the other method, e.g. the type ship and building block method, as the best approach and effective initial reverse engineering tool.