Скачать или смотреть Is This Indonesia's First Aircraft Carrier?

Indonesia has some of the most important sea lanes in the world and serious challenges patrolling them.

It shares maritime borders with 10 countries and stretches across thousands of kilometers of ocean.

But for decades, its military priorities have been focused inward on land instead of the sea.

Each year, the army gets the largest share of the defense budget. It has more troops, more bases, and plays a bigger role in domestic security. The navy, while important, has often had fewer resources and slower upgrades.
That has made it harder to fully guard Indonesia’s sea borders, stop illegal fishing, and respond to foreign vessels entering its waters.

In recent years, there have been gradual efforts to strengthen the navy.
Indonesia has ordered new warships from the United Kingdom, signed a deal with France to build submarines at home, and is buying large patrol ships from Italy. It is also expanding domestic shipbuilding with new locally made patrol vessels.

The goal? A faster and more modern navy that can actually respond to today’s threats.

But then comes something unexpected. Indonesia is now considering buying a used aircraft carrier from Italy.

It would be the country’s first. And while it sounds like a leap forward, aircraft carriers are expensive and hard to operate. They need training, infrastructure, and a support fleet. This one is nearly forty years old and comes with older jets that many countries have already retired.

Some experts say this move does not match what Indonesia’s navy really needs. It risks draining resources from smarter upgrades and becoming a powerful symbol that delivers little real power at sea.