Category: Magazine

Sea voyage with psychologist

Sea voyage with psychologist

Gepostet von | 26 Apr 2021 | , | 0

The crew of the Brandenburg spent 166 days without going ashore during the mission in the Mediterranean. Commander Jan Hackstein gives an insight into how the men and women coped with this strain. Jan Hackstein Between the beginning of September 2020 and the end of January 2021, the Brandenburg frigate was part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2), one of NATO's four standing maritime task forces. The ship was absent from its home port for a total of 166 consecutive days. The mission, framework conditions and nature of the deployment, as well as the effects of the pandemic, made this voyage exceptional. The main mission during this time was to fulfil the mission-equivalent obligation "NATO Support Aegean"....

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War in the shadows

War in the shadows

Gepostet von | 13 Apr 2021 | , , | 1

Mine warfare in the North Sea began with a modest operation in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. The approach to Wilhelmshaven was secured by mine barriers to prevent French forces from entering, as a French squadron had previously briefly flown the flag at Helgoland. These barriers were then intensively guarded by the existing coastal defence units, but not a single French ship came anywhere near the restricted areas during the war. After the war, the development of mines, at that time still combined with torpedoes, was further promoted, but without producing any spectacular activities. The first real naval mine, the C 77 model, was put into service in 1877. It was...

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The 75-year-old danger

The 75-year-old danger

Gepostet von | 12 Apr 2021 | , , | 1

Since the end of the Second World War, millions of tonnes of contaminated waste have been stored in German waters. Their removal is still the subject of controversial debate between the federal and state governments. In the twelve-mile zone of the North Sea and Baltic Sea and in the seaward Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), there are around 1.6 million tonnes of contaminated munitions, including over 5,000 tonnes of gas munitions. The nautical charts show 15 dumping areas, labelled as "unclean munitions" or "anchoring and fishing prohibited". There are also positions with scattered munitions. The inventory has not yet been finalised. Since 2011, the Federal/State Working Group on the North Sea and Baltic Sea (Blano) has published the annually updated report "Munitions contamination of German marine waters". Unfortunately, the...

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Tight schedule for the Sea Falcon

Tight schedule for the Sea Falcon

Gepostet von | 12 Apr 2021 | , | 0

Unmanned systems will become increasingly important in the German Navy in the future. The VorMUAS project is currently taking centre stage for the corvettes. The idea of unmanned aviation is as old as aviation itself. The military has always been the driving force behind the development of such unmanned systems due to the wide range of possible applications. The rapidly advancing technologies of our dawning information age offer new, outstanding opportunities for unmanned aerial vehicles, which are revitalising applications in the military sector. In the German Navy, this development is taking place against the background of a fundamental, future-orientated change in naval aviation. We are currently experiencing the changeover to...

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The commander stays at home

The commander stays at home

Gepostet von | 12 Apr 2021 | , | 0

Modern communication and information technology is making unmanned or autonomous weapon systems possible at sea. However, many questions still need to be answered before they can be deployed. Since 1984 at the latest, perceptions and expectations of technical systems that are capable of acting autonomously have been characterised by the "Terminator" and the technical intelligence behind it, "Skynet". A machine state with almost unlimited capabilities that are only surpassed by its will to power, boundless amorality and hostility towards humanity. When we talk about autonomous systems, images and stories of the Terminator are almost automatically conjured up. The technological reality is very different. Flying...

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