Autonomous Aircraft Carrier: Indonesia’s Future Maritime Defense Solution
INDONESIA-ASWINNEWS.COM- Indonesia as the largest archipelagic country in the world, faces unique challenges in maintaining its maritime security.
With a national jurisdiction area of ± 7.81 million km², having 17,504 islands and a coastline of ± 99,000 km, the need for an effective defense strategy is very urgent.
This was explained by DR. Capt. Marcellus Hakeng Jayawibawa, S.SiT., M.H., M.Mar., Maritime Observer from the Lemhannas Strategic Center Alumni Family Association (IKAL SC), Sunday morning (23/03/2025) to Journalist aswinnews.com, in Jakarta.
He emphasized the importance of developing an autonomous aircraft carrier as a modern solution to maintaining the security of the archipelago’s seas.
Captain Hakeng highlighted Indonesia’s strategic need to strengthen its maritime defense.
“In today’s geopolitical dynamics, the existence of an aircraft carrier is often considered a symbol of strength and a deterrent to other countries,” he said. However, he also emphasized that the unique characteristics of Indonesian waters, with limited depth and narrow shipping lanes, pose a challenge for the operation of conventional aircraft carriers.
In addition, Captain Hakeng also highlighted the military threats faced by Indonesia, including the potential for territorial conflicts with neighboring countries and threats in the Indonesian Archipelago Sea Lane (ALKI).
“In this context, Indonesia needs a helicopter carrier, not a fighter aircraft carrier like those owned by the US, UK, France, or China,” he explained.
He also gave the example of the drone aircraft carrier concept developed by Iran as a more effective alternative.
“Indonesia has a national jurisdiction area of around 7.81 million km² and a coastline of ± 99,000 km. With a very large sea area of around 5.8 million km², we need a strong defense strategy. However, we must also consider our unique geographical conditions. Many Indonesian waters have limited depth, narrow shipping lanes, and coral reefs that can be obstacles for large warships in maneuvering,” said Captain Hakeng.
“For example, an aircraft carrier like the USS Gerald Ford costs more than IDR 210 trillion, while a helicopter carrier that is more suitable for Indonesia costs around IDR 15.9 trillion. In addition, the operational costs of conventional aircraft carriers are also very high, reaching more than IDR 5 billion per day for fuel alone. Therefore, we need to find a more efficient and effective solution,” he added.
As a solution, Captain Hakeng proposed the development of a smaller and more flexible aircraft carrier, with a tonnage of around 20,000 to 30,000 tons, and adopting autonomous and drone-based aircraft carrier technology.
“With this concept, aircraft carriers do not need to rely on manned fighter jets that require large runways, but can instead deploy a more flexible fleet of air and sea drones,” he explained.
Captain Hakeng also emphasized the importance of considering the domestic economic and industrial aspects in aircraft carrier construction.
“By adopting a smaller and drone-based aircraft carrier, Indonesia can save its defense budget and allocate resources to strengthen other defense sectors,” he said. He also encouraged cooperation with local shipyards and the domestic defense industry to encourage independence.
Captain Hakeng emphasized that Indonesia needs aircraft carriers as a strategic tool in maintaining its maritime sovereignty and security.
“However, the construction of aircraft carriers should not only follow global trends without considering geographical conditions and national operational needs,” he said. He recommended the development of smaller, more flexible aircraft carriers capable of operating in shallow and narrow waters, and adopting the concept of drone carriers as a modern and efficient solution.
Team Red
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