INDONESIA’S first aircraft carrier–the former Italian Navy ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi has entered Indonesian waters and expected to arrive in Jakarta on September 18. Additionally, the carrier is to be renamed KRI Sriwijaya after an ancient Malayic empire based in Sumatra. The vessel will be received by the country’s defence minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port alongside top brass including Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) General Agus Subiyanto, Indonesian Army chief Gen Maruli Simanjuntak, Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) chief Admiral Muhammad Ali, and Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) chief Air Marshal Tonny Harjono.
The carrier departed Italy on August 24 with a joint crew concept, manned by personnel from the TNI-AL and the Italian Navy to facilitate the adaptation process and transfer of knowledge. Built by Italy’s Fincantieri, the over-40-years-old aircraft carrier will require extensive retrofitting and modernisation to meet the needs of the TNI-AL’s combat capability, a move which would reportedly cost between US$378 million and US$909 million. The TNI-AL is also training around 310 personnel to crew the carrier.
According to the TNI-AL, the carrier was escorted by an Italian Navy warship on its voyage and conducted several port calls including Sri Lanka before reaching Indonesian waters. Upon entering Indonesian waters, it was then escorted by the TNI-AL’s newest and largest surface combatants–the Fincantieri-built Multipurpose Combat Ships/Pattugliatore Polivalente d’Altura (MPCS/PPA) offshore patrol vessels (OPV) KRI Brawijaya and KRI Prabu Siliwangi delivered in September and December 2025 respectively.
Italy’s parliament approved the carrier’s donation to Indonesia earlier this year which according to the administration would strengthen relations with an ally while avoiding the costly dismantling of an obsolete asset. Last week, the country’s president Prabowo Subianto directed that the vessel be modified to support rotary-wing and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations in order to assist in fighting forest fires currently plaguing the nation. TNI-AL chief Adm Muhammad Ali said that plans drawn up involve hosting TNI-AL, TNI-AD and TNI-AU helicopters aboard the Sriwijaya, which can reportedly accommodate over 10 medium-sized helicopters to better facilitate water-bombing sorties.
Before the end of August, TNI-AU Airbus H215, TNI-AD Bell 412 and TNI-AL AS565 helicopters conducted joint shipboard helicopter trainings which involved takeoff and landings with a carrier deck mock-up as well as actual helicopter operations onboard the TNI-AL’s KRI Makassar landing platform dock (LPD). Furthermore, the carrier can maximise its cargo capacity to transport logistics and supporting equipment for disaster relief operations. Previously, speculations were rife on Indonesian plans to transform the carrier into a drone carrier.-–shp/adj/dl (Pix:TNI-AL,TNI-AU)
