Indonesia says vessel might be used to assist catastrophe aid throughout the archipelago, however its arrival comes amid drive to improve the navy.
Revealed On 18 Sep 2026
Indonesia has welcomed the supply of its first-ever plane provider with a navy ceremony because the vessel arrived at a naval base.
The 41-year-old former Italian navy vessel Giuseppe Garibaldi docked in North Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok seaport on Friday, after crusing from Italy by way of Colombo and the Malacca strait, Indonesian Navy Chief of Employees Muhammad Ali instructed reporters.
Really helpful Tales
record of three objectsfinish of record
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto says the ship might be used to handle disasters throughout the archipelago. Nevertheless, it arrives amid a drive to improve the navy.
The 180-metre (590-foot) vessel can carry as much as 18 helicopters and accommodate as much as 830 personnel, a navy spokesperson mentioned in an announcement.
The provider might be renamed KRI Sriwijaya, honouring the Srivijaya empire, a maritime kingdom based mostly in Sumatra that turned certainly one of Southeast Asia’s dominant naval and buying and selling powers between the seventh and thirteenth centuries.
“There are a lot of disasters on this nation. So we actually want a vessel or platform that would carry many helicopters, as a result of the helicopters can drop logistics rapidly to distant areas,” Ali mentioned.
Nevertheless, he additionally famous that the ship might “be deployed for fight missions if obligatory”.
Bolstering defence
The arrival of the vessel, which was commissioned by the Italian navy in 1985, comes as Prabowo has been pushing to improve Indonesia’s navy property and construct nearer defence cooperation with different international locations.
Italy agreed to provide Indonesia the provider in March, after it was retired in 2014. The transfer was meant to bolster the 2 international locations’ defence engagement.
Italy is searching for offers on submarines and plane, and gifting the provider to Indonesia additionally saves it the price of decommissioning the ship.
“Its situation remains to be superb and hopefully it may be utilized by the Indonesian navy for the following 15 to twenty years,” navy chief Ali mentioned.
Indonesia’s Finance Ministry accredited $450m in financing for the plane provider programme in 2025. Opposition politicians fear the general invoice could possibly be far greater.
Nevertheless, Prabowo – previously a common beneath the Suharto regime – has made constructing Indonesia’s defence property and agreements a precedence.
Jakarta signed an $8.1bn deal in 2022, when Prabowo was defence minister, to buy 42 French-made Rafale fighter jets. India confirmed this yr that it’ll provide the nation with long-range missiles.
Indonesia has additionally agreed this yr to a “Main Defence Cooperation Partnership” with the Trump administration in the US, and a safety treaty with Australia.
