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View all search resultsIndonesia prepares for new era of naval power
Officials have touted the light aircraft carrier’s use in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions, such as to fight forest fires or providing relief in response to various natural disasters.
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Former Italian Navy aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi docks on Sept. 18 upon its arrival from Italy at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta ahead of its handover to the Indonesian Navy. (AFP/Satya Hadi)
T
he arrival of decommissioned Marina Militare (Italian Navy) light aircraft carrier ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Friday marked a new era for the Indonesian Navy as it exerts more assertive and outgoing naval power.
Scheduled for official transfer on Sept. 24, and to be renamed KRI Sriwijaya, the vessel will make Indonesia the second country in Southeast Asia to operate an aircraft carrier after Thailand with its HTMS Chakri Naruebet. Thailand has operated the 11,000-tonne aircraft carrier since 1997.
Indonesian Navy chief of staff Adm. Muhammad Ali has repeatedly stated that the vessel, officially an aircraft-carrying cruiser, would be mostly used in military operations other than war (MOOTW), especially in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions.
Meanwhile, President Prabowo Subianto said on Sept. 7 that the aircraft carrier would be used as a helicopter carrier to extinguish fires.
"[The aircraft carrier] will be refurbished, we will turn it into a helicopter carrier and also for drones,” Prabowo told a disaster mitigation meeting on Sept. 7, as reported by Kompas.com.
“It has the capabilities to house 10 medium-class helicopters.”
Prabowo said the capacity to base helicopters closer to fire hot spots will assist disaster response.
