Category: Magazine

Uncharted territory

The laser weapon project for the navy continues after an extremely successful start. The engineers involved are entering uncharted territory - and are facing new challenges every day. In 2020, the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) commissioned Arge Hochenergielaser Marinedemonstrator, a joint venture between Rheinmetall Waffe Munition and MBDA Deutschland, to develop and manufacture a laser weapon demonstrator (LWD). The aim was to investigate the state of the art for this new type of weapon system and gain initial experience in its use. The LWD was brought on board the frigate Sachsen in June 2022. The almost one-year trial period...

Weiterlesen

For one operating period

If you look at sea areas far from the North Sea and Baltic Sea, you will almost always find a task force supply ship somewhere. The Bonn can also look back on an eventful operational period with many voyages abroad. Frigate Captain Eike Deußen took command of the youngest ship in Class 702, the Bonn, on 11 December 2020 and immediately began preparations for completing the operational training programme. The tasks and absences have already been written into the ship's calendar. And during this operational period, the tasks were quite demanding. It started with participation in Eunavfor Med Irini in September 2021 under coronavirus conditions. In the...

Weiterlesen

Back to the roots

During the Cold War, the aim was to deny the Warsaw Pact access to the western Baltic Sea. At the same time, the North Atlantic had to be secured for the supply of material and troops from the USA and Canada. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the focus shifted to the Mediterranean. First there were crisis operations in the Adriatic, then the Mediterranean became the EU's southern flank and later its external border, which is still evident 30 years later in the Navy's numerous Mediterranean deployments. Since then, it has also been involved in numerous missions in the Horn of Africa between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The navy is currently operating to protect shipping...

Weiterlesen

The LCS debacle of the US Navy

Hardly any other US Navy concept has made as many negative headlines in recent decades as the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). With the foreseeable end of the procurement programme, it is now time to come to terms with the disaster. The transverse launch of the USS Cleveland on 15 April 2023, in which the ship rammed a tugboat and was slightly damaged, is emblematic of the state of the US Navy's LCS programme. What was supposed to be a cutting-edge concept to prepare the Navy for challenges in coastal waters turned into a maritime nightmare shortly after the first ships were commissioned. Originally...

Weiterlesen

Oceans in danger

Millions of people are directly dependent on a well-functioning marine ecosystem - and many more indirectly. The global fight against illegal fishing is an important element in preserving this basis of life. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) is a significant problem for both regional and global maritime security. IUU fishing has significant negative economic and environmental impacts and even affects inter-state relations. Fish stocks, the maritime environment and entire economic sectors are affected. IUUU includes fishing without proper licences, misreporting of catches and the...

Weiterlesen
en_GBEnglish