Is Indonesia's incoming Italian aircraft carrier a strategic upgrade or a potentially costly liability?

analysis Asia Why Indonesia is getting an aircraft carrier, and how Southeast Asian countries could respond The acquisition of the Giuseppe Garibaldi would make Indonesia the second country in Southeast Asia, and the fifth in Asia, to operate an aircraft carrier. JAKARTA: Indonesia’s decision to operate its own aircraft carrier has divided analysts, with some arguing the move is strategically necessary and others warning it could become little more than an expensive symbol. Jakarta recently announced it would acquire the Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft carrier in the form of a grant from the Italian government. The decommissioned vessel, which served the Italian Navy from 1985 until 2024, is expected to arrive ahead of the Indonesian National Armed Forces anniversary on Oct 5. The acquisition would make Indonesia the second country in Southeast Asia, after Thailand, to operate an aircraft carrier. Across Asia, only China, India and Japan currently field carriers of their own. The Giuseppe Garibaldi is viewed as part of President Prabowo Subianto’s broader push to modernise Indonesia’s armed forces and expand its capabilities, which began during his tenure as defence minister from 2019 to 2024. As defence minister, Prabowo oversaw the procurement of fighter jets, missile systems and warships as part of a sweeping military upgrade. However, the idea of acquiring an aircraft carrier only emerged after he assumed the presidency in late 2024. Several analysts say that, as a vast archipelagic nation with numerous strategic waterways and busy chokepoints, Indonesia’s geography alone justifies the need for an aircraft carrier. “Such a vessel is more than capable of supporting various combat and non-combat operations,” said Beni Sukadis, a defence analyst at the Indonesia Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (Lesperssi). He added that the carrier could also play a significant role in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions. Other experts, however, caution that the scale and cost of operating a carrier could place further strain on Indonesia’s finances, which are already stretched by Prabowo’s many ambitious social, economic and defence programmes. According to defence and security news platform Defence Security Asia, its annual operating costs could range between US$50 million and US$80 million. In an opinion piece published by Kompas news portal on Wednesday (Feb 18), Jannus TH Siahaan, a public policy expert at Indonesia’s Padjadjaran University, said it could take years to train the hundreds of crew members needed to operate the vessel. “During that transition period, the ship’s combat effectiveness would be practically zero, while its maintenance costs would continue to run in full every second,” he wrote, adding that the ageing vessel may have a limited service life remaining. “In short, the policy of accepting the Garibaldi grant amid an uncertain national fiscal storm reflects an ambition that is not grounded in reality.” HOW INDONESIA COULD USE THE GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI Aircraft carriers are large warships seen as a projection of military and naval power, and are part of a carrier strike group, or formations that include their aircraft and an escort fleet of other ships. According to Defence Security Asia, Indonesia’s grant-and-refit arrangement with Italy will be combined with a foreign loan package “for acquisition and associated systems”, and the acquisition of transport helicopters and carrier-optimised utility helicopters, amounting to a deal worth about US$1 billion. Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, spokesman for Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence, said negotiations and administrative processes related to the vessel are ongoing between Jakarta and Rome. Under the arrangement, Indonesia is expected to bear the cost of restoring the decommissioned ship to operational condition. “The Indonesian government will allocate a budget for retrofitting or adjustments to meet the operational requirements of the Indonesian Navy,” he said on Feb 18, as quoted by TribunNews. The one-star general declined to provide further details about the recommissioning process, including the scope of upgrades being considered, their projected cost, or whether the ship’s original builder, Fincantieri, would be tasked with carrying out the refurbishment. The Giuseppe Garibaldi first entered into service in September 1985 and was involved in operations in Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya. The 180m-long ship was designed to cater mainly to helicopters as well as jet and propeller aircrafts capable of landing vertically such as the Harrier or the MV22 Osprey. The vessel is not equipped with catapults or heavy-duty arresting gear required for conventional fixed-wing fighters such as the F14 or the J-15T. Indonesia currently does not have aircraft capable of landing vertically, a limitation that could restrict the ship’s role in combat operations, particularly if the 40-year-old carrier were to face off against aircraft carriers that are larger, more advanced and more heavily armed, such as any of China’s three. Beijing lays claim to much of the South China Sea, putting it at odds with several Southeast Asian states including Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Although Indonesia is not a formal claimant in the disputes, China’s so-called nine-dash line overlaps with parts of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone near the Natuna islands. “Indonesia is close to potential hotspots like the South China Sea and Taiwan, over which China is keen to assert its claims,” said Beni of Lesperssi, adding that such tensions are raising the stakes for regional stability and maritime security. Khairul Fahmi of the think tank Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) believes that Giuseppe Garibaldi’s limitations could be offset with the use of technology. “Indonesia can have the vessel modified so that it can deploy drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Drones would be