Between the 15th and 16th of this month, the Italian company Fincantieri sent a delegation to Jakarta to present its proposal to convert the former aircraft carrier ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi (C-551) into a drone carrier to equip the Indonesian Navy, further fueling the speculation that arose during the Indodefence exhibition held in June. In this way, the Southeast Asian country would have the opportunity to revive the vessel, which was retired by the Marina Militare in 2024 following the commissioning of its new amphibious assault ship, ITS Trieste (L9890).
Expanding on the few known details, the defense outlet Janes reported that the presentation lasted two days and was structured around four main areas of work. Among the Italian delegation sent by Fincantieri to the Indonesian capital, the presence of one of the former commanders of the carrier, Marco Guerreiro, stood out, along with its former engineering director, Nicola Tria. They were joined by seven senior representatives from the company, including Corrado Canepa, the current head of retrofit projects.
However, it is currently unknown what specific work would be carried out on the vessel if the proposal moves forward, how much time Fincantieri would need to complete it, and how much Indonesia would have to invest in the process. It is worth recalling that during the aforementioned Indodefence exhibition, a highly unusual conceptual model was displayed bearing the name Giuseppe Garibaldi, notable for, among other details, featuring two islands instead of the single one present in the original aircraft carrier design.
As for the type of systems that could be operated from the new ship, it should be noted that the model in question was showcased alongside scale models of Bayraktar TB3 drones, which are currently manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Technologies. At the same time, it was revealed that the Indonesian Navy is interested in acquiring 60 unmanned systems. The selection of the TB3 would therefore not be surprising, especially considering that the Turkish Navy itself is evaluating the platform for potential integration with the TCG Anadolu, an example of which was the testing conducted during the Seawolf-II 2025 exercise.
Images used for illustrative purposes only.
You may alsol like: Naval Group and Indonesia are preparing to begin the local construction of two new Scorpène Evolved attack submarines
