Indonesia Proposes to Rebuild Italian Aircraft Carrier into UAV Carrier

The Indonesian corporation Republikorp proposes an ambitious project to rebuild the decommissioned Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi into an unmanned aircraft carrier.

Naval News published project details from the Indodefense 2025 exhibition in Jakarta.

Amid negotiations between the two countries on the acquisition of a decommissioned 40-year-old aircraft carrier, Republikorp presented its vision of modernization, which should provide the ship with a service life for the next 15-20 years and the ability to fulfill the tasks of the Indonesian Navy.

The presented model of the ship, signed “Giuseppe Garibaldi,” had little in common with the Italian light aircraft carrier of the same name: its deck was expanded, and the so-called “island” with the superstructure was completely rebuilt.

The project envisages the complete dismantling of the old superstructure with the displacement of a new, more compact one closer to the stern, along with the chimney, which was separated to accommodate an additional elevator for aircraft.

However, such a rebuild would also require significantly restructuring the ship’s structures below deck, as the chimneys from six diesel generators and four gas turbine units permeate the entire ship. Accordingly, at this stage, such a project could be comparable in cost to building a new ship.

The brochure with information about the modernized Garibaldi states that the ship will serve as a mobile command center, which, in addition to the aviation group, will also carry air defense, anti-ship, and anti-submarine warfare.

Indeed, on the mock-ups of the aircraft carrier, instead of the four old Breda OTOMAT 40mm/70 artillery pieces, one can see anti-aircraft guns similar to the 35mm Oerlikon Millennium. They are complemented by RIM-116 anti-aircraft missile launchers, each with a capacity of 21 missiles.

It is also planned to replace old electronic equipment with new one, including radars with a phased array antenna. However, no other weapons, such as anti-ship missiles or torpedo tubes, were presented.

The key innovation on the ship is the emergence of unmanned aircraft. Republikorp, with joint facilities with the Turkish company Baykar, plans to deploy Bayraktar TB3 deck drones and Akinci heavy twin-engine drones. However, the appearance of the latter is more likely a mistake by modelers, as known Akinci models cannot take off from the deck of the ship.

Deck fighter jets and helicopters are also on board the model, indicating that they may be used in the event of modernization.

The typical configuration of the Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft group consists of 12-16 aircraft, some of which are located in the under-deck hangar. It can accommodate 6-8 AV-8B Harrier II aircraft or 8-12 helicopters.

However, it is almost certain that the area of the hangars will change during the rebuilding of the deck and under-deck structures.

Given the above, the Republikorp project seems unrealistic and risky, as it involves a considerable amount of work and investment with the prospect of getting an old rebuilt ship that will last about two decades.

Republikorp’s ability to accomplish such a complex task is equally questionable, even in cooperation with the Italian developer Fincantieri. And also Indonesia as a donor of funds for the project, the cost of which is comparable to the construction of a new aircraft carrier.