Indonesia has approved a budget of $450 million for the purchase of the ex-Italian Navy aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi and two other budgets for aircraft.
The Indonesian government has allocated a budget of $450 million for the ex-Italian Navy carrier, $250 million for ‘transport helicopters’ (Likely referring to helicopters in AW-101’s class) and $300 million for utility helicopters, according to Zona Militar’s report.
Indonesia is also more than likely to include the Bayraktar TB3 UCAVs it will acquire from Turkiye, as both Indonesia and Italy are visibly interested in adding the UAV provision. First, Indonesia’s Republikorp expressed its interest and later Italy’s Fincantieri offered a conversion work on Giuseppe Garibaldi for UAV operations. Bayraktar TB3 has performed more than 100 sorties from TCG Anadolu (L400) LHD of the Turkish Navy, including sorties with munitions.
TurDef previously suggested that Giuseppe Garibaldi serving in the Indonesian Navy might be the starting point in the market for Baykar and Leonardo’s LBA Systems JV, which combines Baykar’s UAVs with Leonardo’s payloads/onboard systems. Fincantieri, Italy’s leading warship builder, offering a conversion for UAV operations strengthens this possibility as it implies Italy will also be involved if the idea to deploy UCAVs proceeds. Thus, it would not only be the first export of Bayraktar TB3 for shipborne use but also the debut of LBA Systems in the export market.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
