Indonesia receives its first aircraft carrier from Italy amid fierce debate over the warship's cost and purpose

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

The 41-year-old former ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived Friday morning at Tanjung Priok naval base in North Jakarta, welcomed with a military ceremony under President Prabowo Subianto's military modernisation drive. Italy agreed in March to gift the vessel, retired in 2024, rather than bear decommissioning costs itself. Defence analysts and opposition politicians are questioning what the ageing carrier will truly cost Indonesia to operate and what strategic purpose it serves.

The transfer makes Indonesia only the second south-east Asian nation with a carrier, after Thailand's HTMS Chakri Naruebet, commissioned in 1997.

The ship is capable of operating fixed-wing jets with short takeoff and vertical landing capability as well as rotary-wing aircraft; Jakarta says it will boost maritime security and disaster response.

Italy is using the gift to deepen defence ties with Indonesia, hoping to secure contracts for submarines and warplanes in return.