Indonesia welcomes first aircraft carrier, prompting debate over costs, military ambitions

Indonesia welcomed its first aircraft carrier on Friday, a former Italian warship that the government says will strengthen the archipelago nation's maritime security and disaster response capabilities.

The 41-year-old former ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, with capacity for short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft and helicopters, arrived Friday morning at a naval base in North Jakarta's Tanjung Priok seaport, where it was welcomed with a military ceremony.

Italy in March agreed to give the carrier, which was retired in 2024, to Indonesia in a move aimed at boosting Italy's broader defence engagement with the Southeast Asian country. Italy is seeking deals on submarines and aircraft, and gifting the carrier to Indonesia also saves it the cost of decommissioning the ship.

The transfer would make Indonesia only the second country in Southeast Asia with a carrier in its fleet. The first was Thailand's HTMS Chakri Naruebet, which was commissioned in 1997 after being procured from Spain along with carrier-capable AV-8S Matador jump jets.

The carrier will be formally commissioned into the Indonesian Navy next week as the KRI Gajah Mada, named after the famed 14th-century Majapahit-era military leader, whose campaigns and vision of a unified archipelago have made him one of Indonesia's most celebrated historical figures. 

Defence development was one of the top priorities for President Prabowo Subianto's administration, as he has advocated an expansion of the military through the purchase of submarines, frigates, fighter jets, missiles and pushed for more defence cooperation with various countries.

But the Garibaldi acquisition has sparked a fierce debate among defence analysts, economists and opposition politicians who question whether Indonesia needs an aircraft carrier at all and whether the government should be spending millions of dollars to refurbish and operate an aging warship while facing mounting fiscal pressures at home. 

Indonesia's Finance Ministry approved USD 450 million in financing for the aircraft carrier programme in 2025. However, some lawmakers have warned the overall bill could be far higher. TB Hasanuddin, a member of Parliament's Commission I, said the cost of retrofitting the carrier alone could reach 16 trillion rupiah (about USD 900 million). 

Indonesia to convert the Garibaldi for handling disasters  

Unlike major naval powers that use aircraft carriers to launch fighter jets far from home shores, Indonesia views the vessel as a mobile command centre and support hub for helicopters, uncrewed aircraft and maritime operations across its thousands of islands.

Speaking during a disaster management meeting early this month, Prabowo said the vessel would help authorities combat forest and peatland fires that regularly blanket parts of Southeast Asia with hazardous haze.

“We will refurbish it and convert it into a carrier for helicopters and drones,” Prabowo said in a video briefing. “This will greatly help our disaster response.”

Prabowo said the carrier could accommodate up to 10 medium-sized helicopters, including aircraft with capabilities comparable to the Black Hawk and Mi-17, and could carry large quantities of water and be deployed to areas with large numbers of fire hot spots. 

He also outlined plans to operate drones from the ship and use it as a mobile platform that could be rapidly deployed to help in the event of natural disasters, which are common in Indonesia, a nation that sits in the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

Caution over costs and operational challenges  

Operating a carrier is extremely costly, however, and experts have questioned whether Indonesia's leadership has thought through whether one is necessary for the country's defence or disaster-relief needs. 

The acquisition comes as Southeast Asia's largest economy faces growing fiscal pressures. Prabowo's government has been funding an ambitious free nutritious meals programme and other costly initiatives while economists have warned about slowing growth, weaker state revenues and widening budget constraints, prompting closer scrutiny of major government spending projects.

“The plan to acquire the Garibaldi must be based on genuine operational needs and our ability to operate it, rather than being driven by pride or other considerations,” said Muhammad Fauzan Malufti, of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

He said policymakers must weigh not only the vessel's acquisition and modernization costs, but also the Navy's ability to sustain its operations, including personnel, maintenance, fuel, weapons systems and supporting infrastructure.

Fauzan said the government should be transparent about those considerations, particularly given the vessel's age. He cited Thailand's carrier as a cautionary example, saying it has spent much of its service life in port because of operational and budget constraints.

“The bottom line is that this should not be forced. Otherwise, the benefits could be outweighed by the costs,” Fauzan said. “The money might be better spent on other priorities, such as increasing the number of frigates in the fleet.”

Military analyst Khairul Fahmi of the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies said aircraft carriers are not a priority for Indonesia, which is focused on preventing adversaries from operating freely in the country's territorial waters. 

“Indonesia has a greater need for submarines, frigates and asymmetric weapons systems to protect its maritime sovereignty,” he said.

But he added that if Indonesia is seeking to position itself as a major maritime nation, "an aircraft carrier can be both a symbol of national power and a multifunctional platform capable of supporting a wide range of military and non-military missions.”