The Indonesian Navy Prepares a Crew Unit for the Garibaldi Aircraft Carrier

The Ministry of Defense has stated that the Indonesian Navy is preparing a crew unit for Indonesia’s first aircraft carrier, the Giuseppe Garibaldi, which will be received as a grant from the Italian Government. The vessel was built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri. Regarding its use, Head of the Defense Information Bureau at the Ministry of Defense’s Secretariat General, Brigadier General Rico Ricardo Sirait, said the aircraft carrier can in principle support the Navy’s duties in both Military Operations for War and Military Operations Other Than War. “Including humanitarian missions and disaster relief. However, the crew unit and ship assignments are still being finalized by the Navy,” Rico said when contacted on Saturday, February 14, 2026. Rico said the vessel falls under a bilateral grant scheme. “That is correct—the Giuseppe Garibaldi is part of a grant scheme from the Italian government to the Indonesian government,” he said. According to Rico, the ship’s arrival schedule is still under discussion. The vessel is currently undergoing technical readiness stages before it can sail to Indonesia, including the dismantling of certain equipment by the Italian Navy. Rico explained that the grant scheme is the result of bilateral communication and discussions between Indonesia and Italy in the defense sector. “This grant scheme is the result of intergovernmental communication and discussions within the framework of Indonesia-Italy bilateral defense cooperation, built through a government-to-government mechanism,” he said. Previously, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Ali said the aircraft carrier is targeted to arrive in Indonesia before the TNI anniversary on October 5, 2026. “The Garibaldi is still in process. The hope is that it can reach Indonesia before the TNI anniversary,” Ali said at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday, February 12, 2026, as quoted from Antara. On another note, the aircraft carrier shares the same manufacturer as two of the Navy’s newest warships—KRI Brawijaya 320 and KRI Prabu Siliwangi 321—all built by Fincantieri. The 180.2-meter-long carrier has a top speed of 30 knots, or approximately 56 kilometers per hour. The ship is equipped with an octuple Mk.29 launcher for Sea Sparrow/Selenia Aspide anti-aircraft missiles, twin Oto Melara 40L70 DARDO guns, triple 324-millimeter torpedo tubes, and Otomat Mk 2 SSM anti-ship missiles.