Italy’s parliament has approved a plan to transfer the decommissioned aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi to Indonesia at no cost, in a move aimed at strengthening defence ties while avoiding decommissioning expenses.
According to Reuters reports that cite government documents, the 41-year-old vessel no longer meets current operational requirements of the Italian Navy due to structural wear and the obsolescence of onboard systems.
Maintaining the 14,100-tonne ship in port was estimated to cost around €5 million (US$5.9 million) in 2025 alone, while scrapping it would require approximately €19 million.
Rome is now seeking to complete the transfer of this carrier to Indonesia by December this year.
Beyond cost savings, the move aligns with Italy’s broader defence engagement with Indonesia, including ongoing efforts to secure deals reportedly worth up to €1.5 billion covering submarines and aircraft.
This follows Jakarta’s acquisition of two Thaon di Revel-class offshore patrol vessels, and its reported selection of the Leonardo M-346F Block 20 aircraft for advanced jet training and light attack roles.
If completed, the transfer of the aircraft carrier would make Indonesia only the second navy in Southeast Asia to operate a fixed-wing-capable “flat deck” platform. The first such carrier in the region was Thailand’s HTMS Chakri Naruebet, which was procured new from Spain along with AV-8S Matador jump jets.
The Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) is yet to outline detailed plans for the vessel’s modernisation, but it has indicated it is likely to be used primarily for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, rather than as a frontline combat carrier.
Separately, the TNI-AL conducted a sinking exercise on 23 April using the decommissioned Frosch-class landing ship tank KRI Teluk Hading as a target. The exercise involved several frontline surface combatants, including the recently acquired Italian-built OPVs KRI Brawijaya and KRI Prabu Siliwangi.
The target vessel was ultimately destroyed by an MM40 Block 3 Exocet anti-ship missile fired from the SIGMA 10514-class frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai.
by Chen Chuanren
