Selection of Indonesian Navy Ship Maintenance and Repair Facilities for Modernization Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Abstract

Naval fleet operational readiness is strongly influenced by the effectiveness of ship maintenance and repair infrastructure. For the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL), the development of a modern Ship Maintenance and Repair Facility (Fasharkan) is essential to support fleet reliability, operational availability, and long-term defense capability. However, determining the most appropriate facility for modernization requires a systematic evaluation involving multiple strategic, technical, and organizational factors. This study aims to identify the most suitable Fasharkan to be developed into a modern naval maintenance facility using a structured multi-criteria decision-making approach. The research employs the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) integrated with a SWOT-based evaluation framework to analyze five alternative facilities: Mentigi, Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, and Manokwari. Decision criteria were derived from expert assessments and literature on naval maintenance systems, covering strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat factors with multiple operational subcriteria. Pairwise comparison matrices were processed using Expert Choice 11 to obtain priority weights and evaluate consistency levels. The results indicate that the opportunity criterion has the highest priority weight (0.508), suggesting that external strategic opportunities, including technological advancement and defense industry policy support, play a dominant role in determining modernization priorities. Among the alternatives, Fasharkan Surabaya achieved the highest global priority score (0.373), significantly outperforming other facilities. This result reflects its superior infrastructure capacity, strategic geographic position, stronger industrial ecosystem, and greater readiness for technological modernization. Consistency ratio values below 0.1 confirm the reliability of expert judgments and the robustness of the analytical model. The findings provide a structured decision-support framework for naval infrastructure development and highlight the strategic importance of Surabaya as the most feasible candidate for transformation into a modern naval maintenance facility capable of enhancing Indonesia’s maritime defense readiness.