Category: Security policy

Business vs. security

Chancellor Scholz has got his way: a Chinese state-owned company may acquire a stake in Germany's critical maritime infrastructure. Is the economic opportunity worth the risk of exerting influence? Contrary to the reservations of all six ministries involved, above all the lead ministry for economic affairs and the Foreign Office, as well as warnings from Brussels and the secret services, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to allow the port subsidiary of the Chinese maritime state-owned group Cosco to retain a stake in the Tollerort container terminal of the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA - a "word of power" from the Chancellor using his authority to issue directives. Between HHLA and Cosco Shipping Ports Limited (CSPL), the participation in the Container Terminal Tollerort was...

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Punktlandung

Kapitän zur See Thorsten Bobzin hat nach vier Jahren das Kommando über die Marineflieger übergeben. Er blickt auf eine bewegte Zeit zwischen Systemeinführungen, Nachwuchssorgen und Fähigkeitslücken zurück. Nach vier Jahren an der Spitze des Marinefliegerkommandos zieht Thorsten Bobzin ein wichtiges Resümee: „Gott sei Dank hatten wir nur einen Flugunfall, der zudem glimpflich ablief.“ Auf die Frage, welche Situation die größte Anspannung ausgelöst hat, nennt er den russischen Angriffskrieg auf die Ukraine im Februar dieses Jahres. Die Marineflieger bewiesen ihre Fähigkeiten mit sehr hohem Engagement und einer schnellen Einsatz- und Verlegebereitschaft. In diesem Zusammenhang erwies sich einmal mehr die Fähigkeit...

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New mine defence vehicles for European navies

As their mine countermeasure vessels are on average around 30 years old, most European navies are replacing existing weapon systems with a mix of mother ships and unmanned plug-and-play systems to manage a full detect-to-engage cycle. The navies of Northern, Western and Southern Europe continue to receive the majority of funding for new build programmes, while Eastern European navies, for example from Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine, are seeking to modernise their existing ships. As of September 2022, there are fourteen Mine Countermeasures (MCM) projects for European navies with a total of 82 platforms in the pipeline. Five of these projects are already underway and nine are planned. The following overview begins...

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With high-tech towards the rising sun

In view of the growing threat situation in the region, Japan is modernising its navy. In-house developments are complemented by purchased technology in the best possible way. Japan has the sixth longest coastline and the sixth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. More than 90 per cent of Japan's foreign trade is conducted by sea. In line with its maritime interests and the exposed location of the island state, Japan maintains the second largest navy in Asia. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (Kaijo Jieitai) - known internationally as the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) - currently has a total of 155 units, including supply vessels, patrol vessels and auxiliary vessels. The vast majority of the fleet is domestically produced. The majority...

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Full house in Linstow

With the return of politics to national and alliance defence, new tasks arise for the navy. At the DWT naval workshop in Linstow, known problems, particularly in procurement, were highlighted. The DWT organised the naval workshop for the 24th time. Between 19 and 21 September, a platform for dialogue, information and communication was offered to the navy, the public sector, research and industry in Linstow. More than 500 stakeholder representatives accepted the invitation to the Van der Valk Resort Linstow. The participants obviously enjoyed the opportunity to meet in person and exchange expertise with each other....

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