Drass is ready to build six compact next-generation DGK-class submarines for the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, but what connection exists with the possible transfer of the Garibaldi ship to the Indonesian Navy?
According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, there was a preliminary agreement between the Indonesian government and the Livorno-based company Drass, led by Sergio Cappelletti, within the dossier on the Garibaldi ship. The newspaper reports a letter dated September 25, 2025, in which Jakarta proposed to Italy a payment mechanism related to the transfer of the naval unit, a document received by the top management of the Armaments Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and published in an article by Marco Lillo. According to the newspaper, some questions remain about the company’s involvement in the matter and the reasons why Indonesia calls Drass into question offering compensations.
The possible free transfer of the former Italian aircraft carrier Garibaldi to the Indonesian Navy is now at the center of a dossier examined by the Italian Parliament. The Defense Committees of the Chamber and Senate must express their opinion by March 16 and – if positive – the draft decree hypothesizes that the transfer of the unit could be finalized by December 2026.
Il Fatto Quotidiano draws attention to the letter sent by the Indonesian government to the Italian Ministry of Defense regarding the transfer of the Garibaldi ship, questioning the role attributed to the Livorno-based company in the document.
The Ministry of Defense has intervened on the case, denying the reconstruction by stating that “no content of the letter” from Jakarta “has been accepted.” At the same time, Drass also issued a statement providing its version of the facts.
All the details.
THE FREE TRANSFER OF THE GARIBALDI SHIP
Last September, the Indonesian government allocated a budget of 450 million dollars for the sale process of the former Italian Navy aircraft carrier, 250 million dollars for “transport helicopters,” and 300 million dollars for utility helicopters.
However, the naval unit could be transferred free of charge to the Indonesian Navy.
On February 19, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto sent to the Defense Committees of the Chamber and Senate a government draft decree providing for the free transfer of the ship to the Republic of Indonesia. Attached to the proposal is a dossier from the Defense General Staff explaining the reasons for the ship’s transfer, which until 2011 had been the flagship of the Italian fleet.
In the years following its decommissioning, several hypotheses were made about the possible use of the Garibaldi. In 2022, there was talk of transforming it into a museum ship in Genoa or using it for satellite launches from the sea, before negotiations began with the Indonesian Navy for the acquisition of the unit.
INDONESIA’S SPENDING PLANS
As recalled by the Corriere on September 28, 2025, “Jakarta’s interest emerged in May 2024, when Admiral Muhammad Ali, Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, boarded the former Italian aircraft carrier. A few months later, during the Indodefence fair, Fincantieri, which does not comment on the rumor, presented the project to transform the ship into a platform for aerial and naval drones, which evidently convinced the Indonesians.”
From there, a report by Zona Militar stated that the Indonesian government had allocated a budget of 450 million dollars for the purchase of the ship and the equipment necessary for its operation, 250 million dollars for “transport helicopters” (probably referring to AW-101 class helicopters), and 300 million dollars for utility helicopters.
But now it is no longer about a sale, but a free transfer, as can be seen from the government draft decree.
“The Giuseppe Garibaldi is a donation from the Italian government. The budget prepared by the Indonesian government is intended for the adaptation needs to meet the operational requirements of the TNI Angkatan Laut [Indonesian Navy],” declared to the Indonesian media the Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, General Rico Ricardo Sirait, also reported by Zona Militar on February 16.
WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF BROADER COOPERATION BETWEEN ROME AND JAKARTA
With the prospect of the free transfer of the ship, the operation could be part of a broader framework of industrial and military cooperation between Italy and Indonesia.
From an industrial and economic perspective, the report notes how the recent sale to Indonesia of two PPA-class naval units built by Fincantieri, worth approximately 1.25 billion dollars, “has initiated a particularly significant industrial cooperation channel.”
“This path could be further strengthened also through the transfer of the Garibaldi Ship, with possible positive repercussions for the national industrial system,” the Defense dossier emphasizes. Among these, the report highlights: the conclusion of further orders in the naval sector.
Among the possible orders listed in the sheet accompanying the draft decree under examination by the parliamentary Committees are the purchase of 24 Leonardo M-346 training aircraft for about 600 million euros, three patrol aircraft for an estimated value of 450 million euros, and six DGK-class submarines produced precisely by Livorno-based Drass for 480 million euros.
DRASS’S STATEMENTS
The company Drass has intervened on the matter, rejecting some journalistic reconstructions “that hypothesize opaque connections between the possible transfer of the Garibaldi Ship to Indonesia and Drass’s industrial activities in that country.”
“These are serious and unfounded insinuations that end up tarnishing the name of a medium-sized Italian company that, after more than a decade of work on international markets, has managed on its own to obtain an important industrial contract abroad,” explains the company president Sergio Cappelletti, specifying that “precisely because these reconstructions are inaccurate and damaging to the reputation of the company and the people who work there, I consider it necessary to precisely restore the facts, as has always been my way of operating.”
In the released statement, Cappelletti emphasizes that “the Garibaldi Ship — on which I had the honor to serve for three years — today represents mainly a cost for the Defense Administration in terms of economics and personnel involved. Its possible transfer would instead allow the activation of an important modernization program involving major Italian defense companies, for the upgrade of the combat system and aeronautical components.”
Furthermore, the manager continues, “such an operation would generate work for the national industry, strengthen the export capabilities of the defense sector, and contribute to consolidating strategic relations with an emerging country like Indonesia, a relevant partner also from an energy and commercial perspective,” highlighting that “this is exactly the kind of strategic industrial policy that our country has hoped for years to be able to implement and which in this case is finally materializing.”
THE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE GARIBALDI DOSSIER AND THE SUBMARINES
According to the Livorno company, the DGK submarine project represents an initiative distinct from the dossier on the Garibaldi ship.
“It is essential to clarify a point that some journalistic reconstructions have deliberately confused. The DGK submarine project, worth 480 million USD, originates from a formal expression of interest by the Indonesian government in October 2024 and is currently in the financing consolidation phase,” clarifies the Drass representative, reiterating that “this is therefore an industrial initiative started well before and completely independent of the evaluations that developed in Italy only in the second half of 2025 regarding the possible transfer of the Garibaldi Ship.”
Therefore, “artificially linking these two dossiers, insinuating a presumed connection between them, is a reconstruction without any factual basis,” concludes Drass president Cappelletti.
DRASS’S TECHNICAL ROLE IN THE EVALUATION OF THE SHIP
The company also explained its operational role in the context of technical checks related to the Garibaldi ship.
“For further clarity, in the context of the technical evaluations related to the Garibaldi Ship, Drass operates exclusively on behalf of the Indonesian authorities. The activities carried out concern exclusively: technical inspections, engineering consultancy, logistical support, and analysis of technical documentation,” clarifies the Drass statement.
“These activities – the statement continues – are carried out by a team of specialists with direct experience on the Garibaldi Ship and are commissioned solely by the Jakarta government. It is important to reiterate a fundamental point: there is no direct or indirect burden for the Italian Ministry of Defense.”
RELATIONS WITH THE ITALIAN DEFENSE
The text also recalls the situation of national programs concerning the company.
“It is also useful to remember a fact. Defense acquisition programs follow exclusively the operational priorities of the Armed Forces,” Cappelletti recalls, admitting that “in recent years Drass has recorded a drastic decline in new national programs, despite operating in highly specialized technological sectors, in which it represents an almost unique industrial reality.”
“Precisely for this reason, the company has had to strengthen its presence in international markets, acquiring industrial contracts and in the defense sector with foreign clients. Otherwise, the very survival of the company would have been at risk. This reality is exactly the opposite of the defamatory reconstructions that portray Drass as a beneficiary of alleged favoritism.
THE COMPANY’S POSITION ON THE JOURNALISTIC RECONSTRUCTIONS
In the concluding part of the statement, the company returns to the reconstructions circulating about the dossier.
“Portraying Drass as the sole industrial beneficiary of cooperation with Indonesia is therefore false, deeply misleading, and functional to logics unrelated to the facts. The international growth of our company is the result of technological competitiveness, industrial capacity, and trust built over the years with institutional and industrial partners. Turning a normal and transparent industrial relationship with a foreign government into an opaque affair means feeding a distorted narrative that risks damaging not only a company but also the work, professionalism, and reputation of many people. For this reason, I have already instructed my lawyers to evaluate every necessary action to protect my honor and the company’s image.”
Therefore, “Drass will continue to operate as it has always done: with transparency, in full compliance with national and international regulations, and with the responsibility that characterizes those who work every day in the defense and security sectors,” assures President Cappelletti.
THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE’S REPLY TO THE “FATTO”
Finally, on the issue and the remarks raised by the newspaper directed by Marco Travaglio, the Ministry headed by Crosetto also intervened.
In the extensive note released by the Ministry, it is specified that “The article [of Fatto ed.] is therefore based on a document devoid of any political, administrative, or legal effect, artificially transformed into an alleged ‘case’ through a reconstruction that finds no support in the facts. Considering the announced parliamentary question regarding the transfer of the Garibaldi ship to the Indonesian Navy, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto will be pleased to send a detailed response to the Chambers, fully informing Parliament and shedding full light on the facts, also before the competent parliamentary Committees, where – as is known – the procedure for authorization of the transfer is currently underway, so as to highlight the conjectures and defamatory allegations that have been instrumentally constructed to the detriment of the Ministry and its leadership.”
