Indonesian Navy Plans to Retrofit Garibaldi Aircraft Carrier
Indonesian Navy Plans to Retrofit Garibaldi Aircraft Carrier
Reporter
September 18, 2026 | 08:32 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Italian ship Giuseppe Garibaldi will undergo retrofit and refurbishment after arriving in Indonesia. The Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, Admiral Muhammad Ali, said that two shipyards from different countries will repair and improve the aircraft carrier’s condition.
“We will collaborate between PT Penataran Angkatan Laut and Fincantieri,” said Ali after inspecting the condition of the Garibaldi vessel in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, on Friday, September 18, 2026.
Fincantieri is an Italian shipyard company. He said that it is possible for the retrofitting of the aircraft carrier, which received a grant from the Italian government, to involve other companies as well.
Ali mentioned one Italian defense industry company, Leonardo. He claimed that the company would provide equipment for the Garibaldi vessel.
Ali said retrofitting the Garibaldi is necessary to adapt the ship to the needs of the Indonesian Navy. “The needs of the Italian Navy and Indonesia are different. So, it will be adjusted to the tropical sea conditions, what needs to be added and what doesn’t,” he said.
Regarding the budget allocation for the retrofit of the Garibaldi aircraft carrier, Ali stated that the government has already prepared it. However, he requested that the Ministry of Defense disclose the figures.
The Head of the Information Bureau of the Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, has not responded to the questions as of the writing of this news.
Although the Garibaldi aircraft carrier will be utilized for Non-War Military Operations, the ship will be equipped with weapons as part of the retrofit. PT PAL President Director Kaharuddin Djenod said that the request to arm the Garibaldi was made at the direction of Prabowo Subianto. “The President ordered it to be equipped with weapons,” he said at the Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Friday, September 18, 2026.
He said that in the near future, PT PAL and Fincantieri will assess and list the aspects that need to be improved on the Garibaldi vessel. However, he mentioned that one of the things that needs to be improved immediately is the ship’s powering system or propulsion. “If it is currently still using gas turbines, we will explore the possibility of replacing it with a different powering system,” he said.
Additionally, each shipyard company will discuss how they will divide the tasks of repairing and improving this aircraft carrier’s condition. Kaharuddin targets the completion of the Garibaldi vessel’s improvement process within the next 3 months.
Read: How Long Could Indonesia Deploy the Garibaldi Aircraft Carrier?
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