Indonesia's First Aircraft Carrier Arrives in Jakarta Ahead of Naval Recommissioning as KRI Sriwijaya

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — The Italian Navy aircraft carrier ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi arrived in Indonesia on Friday morning, Sept. 18, 2026, docking at Pier 107 in Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, ahead of its scheduled induction into service as KRI Sriwijaya.

The warship completed a long-distance deployment from Italy that began on Aug. 24, making several intermediate port stops, including in Sri Lanka. Upon crossing into Indonesian archipelagic sea lanes through ALKI I near Bangka Island, the carrier was escorted to the capital by Indonesian Navy guided-missile escorts KRI Brawijaya-320 and KRI Prabu Siliwangi-321.

Shortly after the vessel berthed at approximately 7:58 a.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB), Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin boarded the carrier to inspect the platform alongside Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Ali, top military leaders, and the vessel's commanding officer, Captain Marco Guerriero.

The arrival of a flat-deck aviation vessel marks a fundamental operational evolution for Southeast Asia's largest archipelago, shifting naval doctrine toward open-water task force capability. Transforming the platform into a drone and rotorcraft carrier provides Jakarta with long-range maritime monitoring capabilities across vital oceanic transit lanes and reinforces rapid airborne deployment for domestic humanitarian and disaster-relief operations.

Reflagging and Renaming Ceremony

The vessel will formally enter the fleet of the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) following an official handover and reflagging protocol set for next week, when the Italian tricolor will be replaced by the Indonesian national ensign.

"It will likely be handed over and inducted into the Indonesian Navy as a Ship of the Republic of Indonesia, or KRI, on the 24th of this month," Admiral Ali said in Jakarta on Friday. "At that time, we will execute the reflagging process to change the flag from Italy to Indonesia."

Once the reflagging is complete, the carrier will officially adopt its new sovereign operational name.

"The ship will take the name KRI Sriwijaya," Ali confirmed.

The platform comes as a sovereign grant from the Italian government to Indonesia's Ministry of Defense with an estimated valuation of €54.02 million ($60.50 million). The House of Representatives (DPR) approved the acquisition in July 2026, recognizing the vessel as Indonesia’s first aircraft carrier.

Operational Refits and Fleet Integration

To prepare for active service, the Indonesian Navy dispatched 100 personnel to Italy for specialized operational and technical training as future crew. Supporting shore infrastructure is also progressing rapidly, with construction of a dedicated home base at Ratai Bay in Lampung currently standing at 76 percent completion.

President Prabowo Subianto previously confirmed that the ship will undergo structural refurbishments to serve primarily as a mobile operating base for unmanned aerial vehicles and rotary-wing aircraft, with capacity to embark around 10 medium-class utility helicopters.

Beyond conventional defense patrols, authorities plan to deploy the ship's aviation wing to support large-scale disaster management efforts, including transporting water-bombing helicopters to accelerate containment of seasonal forest and land fires across remote regions.