Italy is taking another step to get rid of the aircraft carrier “Giuseppe Garibaldi”, its former flagship
Italy's parliament on Tuesday approved a government plan to donate an aging aircraft carrier to Indonesia, a move the executive said would strengthen relations with an ally while avoiding the high costs of dismantling an outdated military asset, Reuters reports.
The aircraft carrier “Giuseppe Garibaldi”, valued at 54 million euros, entered the service of the Italian Navy in 1985 and participated in various operations in the Mediterranean Sea area and off Africa, including missions in Lebanon, Libya and Somalia, after which it was placed in reserve in 2024.
“Structural wear and tear and obsolescence of onboard systems” means the ship “no longer meets current capability and operational requirements,” a government document says.
A parliamentary report concluded that transferring the aircraft carrier to Indonesia would allow Italy to save maintenance costs estimated for last year alone at around 5 million euros, to which would be added another 19 million euros needed for dismantling.
Indonesia does not intend to use the aircraft carrier for military purposes
Defense officials in Jakarta say accepting the donation would be faster and more cost-effective than buying a new ship and could be useful for distributing disaster relief, according to Indonesian media.
Rome aims to complete the donation by December. This is part of a wider strategy to expand trade relations with Indonesia.
The government led by Giorgia Meloni is trying to complete the sale of Italian submarines and aircraft to Indonesia, worth around 1.5 billion euros.
“It is a reasonable operation. Military and industrial cooperation brings benefits, including politically and in other economic matters,” said Alessandro Marrone, a defense expert at the Institute of International Affairs in Rome.
The Italian opposition criticized the plan to donate the aircraft carrier
Last year, shipbuilder Fincantieri delivered two warships to the Indonesian navy in a deal worth $1.2 billion.
But opposition groups criticized the plan to donate the aircraft carrier, a former flagship of the Italian Navy.
Members of the defense committee in the lower house, belonging to the Five Star Movement and the Democratic Party, voted against, citing a lack of information.
Last month, the regional council of the southern region of Apulia – where the Garibaldi is currently docked – asked the government not to approve the donation and instead turn the ship into a museum in the port of Taranto.
