Freeways as Runways: Indonesia Plans to Turn Its Islands Into Cheaper ‘Aircraft Carriers’
Formal / News style: Indonesia tests fighter jet landings on highways as part of a low-cost strategy to strengthen air defense across its vast archipelago. The Southeast Asian nation is converting sections of toll roads into emergency airstrips to boost military readiness and territorial security. Facing geographic and budget constraints, Jakarta turns civilian infrastructure into a new layer of national defense. Powerful / catchy: 4. Highways may soon double as airbases in Indonesia’s bold experiment in military resilience. 5. From toll roads to takeoff zones: how Indonesia is reinventing air power without aircraft carriers. 6. A radical plan to use public roads as runways reshapes the future of defense in the world’s largest island nation.
By [Your Name], Special Defense Correspondent
Published February 12, 2026 — based on verified reporting by international news agencies
Indonesia is undertaking a bold and unconventional expansion of its air-defense strategy, transforming its network of highways and toll roads into a dispersed and resilient system of emergency runways. The plan, which military officials describe as far more cost-effective than purchasing or building conventional aircraft carriers, could fundamentally reshape how the archipelagic nation responds to air and maritime security threats
At a recent military demonstration in Lampung province on the southern tip of Sumatra, fighter aircraft landed and took off from a section of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road, marking the first trial of its kind in Indonesia’s history. An F-16 fighter jet and an EMB-314 Super Tucano attack aircraft successfully completed runway operations from the 24-meter-wide highway, showcasing the feasibility of such maneuvers outside of conventional airfield.
The Indonesian Air Force chief of staff, Marshal Tonny Harjono, said on Wednesday that the goal is to enable each of the country’s 38 or more provinces to host at least one “situationally usable” runway section along major highways. While no formal timeline has been announced, officials say the initiative will be rolled out gradually as part of broader defense planning.
“The use of toll roads as situational alternative runways is expected to strengthen the operational readiness of the Indonesian Air Force in facing various potential threats, without reducing the primary function of toll roads as public transportation infrastructure,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation with more than 6,000 inhabited islands stretching over 5,000 kilometers east to west, faces unique geographical challenges. Maritime and territorial disputes, particularly in the South China Sea, have underscored the need for flexible and redundant defense capabilities. The sprawling geography makes traditional concentrated air-base infrastructure vulnerable to disruption and limits rapid deployment across the nation’s vast territory.
Analysts say converting public highways into aircraft runways offers a way to mitigate these vulnerabilities. Civilian roadways can be spread across the country and upgraded incrementally at lower cost than a fleet of aircraft carriers. Acquiring and maintaining carriers — floating air bases that cost billions of dollars and require significant crew and logistics support — remains beyond Indonesia’s current defense budget priorities
“An aircraft carrier doesn’t seem that attractive as a cost-effective platform,” said Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. “Having countless toll roads and highways earmarked as emergency military runways across the entire archipelago makes more strategic and operational sense.”
The resilience of this distributed runway approach is also an advantage, according to Koh. “If you strike the aircraft carrier once, it’s gone,” he added. By contrast, a network of alternative road-based landing sites would ensure continuity of operations even if some locations were damaged or compromised.
To function effectively as emergency runways, certain highway segments must meet specific technical requirements. Indonesia’s Defense Ministry has begun preparing road maps to upgrade selected toll roads and national highways so that their surfaces, gradients, and clearances meet aircraft operational standards. In emergencies, these sections could serve as alternative airstrips when primary airfields are unavailable due to natural disasters, security concerns, or maintenance shutdowns.
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Deputy Defense Minister Donny Ermawan Taufanto described the initial demonstration on the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road as a milestone in Indonesia’s “universal defense system,” which aims to integrate civilian infrastructure into national defense planning.
Despite narrow widths (approximately 24 meters compared with 45–60 meters for standard airport runways), successful operations by highly trained Indonesian pilots demonstrate that the concept is practicable under controlled conditions. Harjono emphasized that pilots are receiving specialized training for these runway environments, which require precision and skill given the constrained space.
Critics of the strategy have questioned whether civilian infrastructure should be repurposed for military use, arguing that the duality could complicate road maintenance and safety standards. However, proponents say the trade-offs are justified by strengthened national resilience and the deterrent value of distributed air capability.
Ultimately, Indonesia’s highways-as-runways plan reflects a broader trend in defense thinking: the need to maximize strategic depth and adaptability in a world of evolving threats. By reimagining everyday infrastructure as part of its military toolkit, Indonesia seeks to ensure that its forces can operate effectively across one of the most geographically complex countries on earth.
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Fiaz Ahmed
I am Fiaz Ahmed. I am a passionate writer. I love covering trending topics and breaking news. With a sharp eye for what’s happening around the world, and crafts timely and engaging stories that keep readers informed and updated.
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