An important chapter in the history of the Italian Navy is definitively closing. Today, August 24, 2026, Ship Giuseppe Garibaldi (C-551) leaves Taranto and Italy to begin its transfer to Indonesia, where it will become part of the Asian country's military navy.

The final lowering of the flag is scheduled for today in the Mar Grande of Taranto, in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Navy. The ship will also be saluted by its last commander, Captain Marco Guerriero.

It is the conclusion of a story that began over forty years ago and that has profoundly marked the evolution of the Italian naval aviation component.

Since 1985 protagonist of the rebirth of Italian naval aviation

Launched in 1983 and entered into service in 1985, the Giuseppe Garibaldi was the first major postwar Italian unit designed to employ a substantial embarked air component.

The Navy itself considers it the unit that initiated modern national naval aviation capability. It was indeed on the Garibaldi that the path took shape which would lead to the use of AV-8B Harrier II aircraft, the short takeoff and vertical landing planes that for decades represented the Italian embarked fixed-wing component.

For 27 years it was also the flagship of the Italian Navy.

During its career it participated in some of the main international operations involving the Italian Armed Forces, from Somalia to the Balkans, from Afghanistan to Libya.

Among these are Restore Hope, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom and Unified Protector.

The passing of the torch to Ship Trieste

The gradual withdrawal of the Garibaldi is part of the profound renewal of the Italian naval component.

The Navy had already indicated in 2025 the passing of the torch between the historic unit and Ship Trieste, the new multipurpose Landing Helicopter Dock destined, among other tasks, for amphibious projection and naval air operations support.

«Ship Garibaldi passes the torch. Ship Trieste sets sail», the Navy had summarized in March 2025.

The Garibaldi, therefore, is not being replaced by an identical platform: its capabilities are today part of a broader naval air structure that also includes the aircraft carrier Cavour, with the F-35B component, and Ship Trieste.

Why Italy decided to transfer it

Once operational activity concluded, the possibility of preserving the ship as a floating museum had also been considered.

However, this solution did not materialize.

According to reports from the Corriere del Mezzogiorno, maintaining the now decommissioned ship would have entailed in 2025 alone approximately 5 million euros in costs for electricity, security, maintenance and activities necessary to preserve its integrity and habitability.

In the absence of transfer, it would have also been necessary to proceed with disposal and subsequently demolition of the unit, a process estimated at least 24 months and a cost of approximately 19 million euros.

The choice therefore fell on transfer to Indonesia as part of growing military and industrial cooperation between Rome and Jakarta.

For Indonesia it will be the first aircraft carrier

For the Indonesian Navy, the TNI AL, the arrival of the Garibaldi represents the beginning of a new phase.

The unit will become the first aircraft carrier in the history of the Indonesian Navy.

Jakarta has been preparing for months the personnel, infrastructure and logistics necessary to manage it. Last July the Indonesian Navy confirmed the dispatch to Italy of 100 military personnel destined for training, while the complete crew could exceed 500 people in the future.

The formula officially indicated by Indonesian authorities is that of a transfer as a donation, accompanied however by the costs necessary for restoration, adaptation and transfer of the unit.

A period of joint training between Italian and Indonesian personnel is also planned: according to the Jakarta Navy, sailors from the two countries will form a joint crew during the transfer voyage, allowing Indonesians to become familiar with the ship directly under the supervision of Italian personnel.

Arrival scheduled for September 20

According to information communicated by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense to the Jakarta Parliament, the arrival of the Giuseppe Garibaldi in Indonesia is scheduled for September 20, 2026.

For Italy it will be a final farewell to a ship that accompanied over forty years of transformation of the Italian Navy.

For Indonesia it will, on the contrary, be the beginning of an entirely new capability.

It will change flag and change crew, but the Garibaldi will continue to sail: certainly a particular conclusion for what for almost three decades has been the symbol and flagship of the Italian fleet.

Sources

• Italian Navy – From Ship Garibaldi to Ship Trieste, March 28, 2025. Italian Navy

• Italian Navy – The birth of the embarked fixed-wing component. Italian Navy

• Corriere del Mezzogiorno, August 24, 2026. Taranto bids farewell to the Garibaldi

• ANTARA – Indonesian Navy, July 13, 2026. Indonesia and Italy prepare joint crew for aircraft carrier transfer

• ANTARA, July 2026. The Garibaldi heading to the Indonesian Navy