INDONESIA commissioned its first aircraft carrier–KRI Sriwijaya into Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) service in Jakarta, the former Italian Navy ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived in Indonesia on September 18 from Italy after its donation to Indonesia was approved. Its namesake takes after an ancient Malayic empire around present-day South Sumatra which held great influence over maritime trade routes in the region. Indonesia becomes the second country in Southeast Asia to operate an aircraft carrier after Thailand’s HTMS Chakri Naruebet.
In a ceremony attended by Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) chief General Agus Subiyanto, TNI-AL chief Admiral Muhammad Ali alongside other top brass, the Italian naval ensign aboard the carrier was lowered before Indonesia’s flag was raised, marking the official transformation into the KRI Sriwijaya. “The presence of KRI Sriwijaya in the Indonesian Navy represents a concrete manifestation of the modernisation of the TNI’s defence equipment, with the capability to serve as a reliable maritime operations command centre, as well as a means of defence diplomacy and humanitarian assistance. This strengthens the TNI’s role nationally as well as at the regional and global levels,” the general said.
The carrier served in the Italian Navy for over four decades before it was retired from service in 2024 and approved for transfer by Italy’s parliament earlier this year. Speaking on the transfer, Italian Navy Chief Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto described the handover as the beginning of a new chapter and a symbol of growing cooperation between the two navies. 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.
The Sriwijaya facilitates short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft and rotary-wing aircraft, with plans for the vessel to serve as a maritime command platform to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts. Earlier this month, 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. 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.
Indonesia’s state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL is expected to prepare maintenance and modernisation capabilities in partnership with the Sriwijaya’s builder–Fincantieri to modify the vessel for TNI-AL operations, a move which could reportedly cost between US$378 million and US$909 million.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:TNI-AL)
