Is Indonesia’s new aircraft carrier worth its US$98,700 a day fuel cost?

Indonesia’s fresh drills this month on its first and only aircraft carrier have refocused attention on the issue of whether the costly, ageing vessel is being put to good strategic use.

The KRI Sriwijaya-100, commissioned two months ago, should be deployed for power projection and military operations far from Jakarta’s shores, analysts say, warning that underutilisation risks turning the military asset into “a sitting duck”.

The Indonesian navy conducted helicopter operation drills aboard the...