Category: Security policy

The turtle fleet

North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un is organising his armed forces ever more strategically. North Korea's navy is gearing up for an asymmetric war. At the end of the 16th century, Korea under Admiral Yi Sun-Sin deployed manoeuvrable, heavily armed ships that were also "armoured" with a bronze shield to successfully fend off various offensives by the much larger Japanese fleet. Due to their resilience, these units were known as "turtle ships". In the 21st century, North Korea is now also relying on an asymmetric fleet to offset the superiority of the much stronger fleets of South Korea, Japan and the USA. Pyongyang maintains much greater secrecy regarding its armed forces than Russia or China. Western...

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Left and right of the Rhine

For 30 years now, selected German and French naval officer candidates have been receiving full training in the partner country. The experience they gain serves as the basis for unique careers. It all began in 1993, which feels like an eternity ago. 30 years earlier, the Elysée Treaty was signed between France and Germany, whereby cooperation between the two countries in many areas, including the armed forces, was agreed as a political goal. In the same year, this cooperation was further advanced with a new exchange programme between the two navies. Every year for the past 30 years, the German Navy and the Marine Nationale have entrusted their partner with young officer candidates for...

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Integrated Marine Rescue Centre for the EGV BERLIN

The BERLIN task force provider (EGV) will be equipped with an integrated Marine Rescue Centre (i-Merz). The day after the budget committee gave its approval at the end of March, the Vice President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), Annette Lehnigk-Emden, and the Managing Director of German Naval Yards Kiel, Rino Brugge, signed the contract for the construction and integration of the i-Merz. According to the Ministry of Defence, the contract is worth around 42 million euros. Construction of the i-Merz is to begin shortly and integration is to be completed by mid-2024. The i-Merz is an emergency medical facility...

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More power, please!

The American armed forces are lagging behind the Russians in the development of hypersonic weapons. A development programme has now been initiated for the Navy's fighter-bombers. On 27 March, the US Navy commissioned rival companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to develop an aircraft carrier-capable hypersonic cruise missile to combat sea targets. The development programme is called Hypersonic Air-Launched Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Weapon, or Halo for short. Halo is not to be deployed directly from ships, but from carrier-based fighter aircraft, in particular the F/A-18E/F. The Navy expects Halo to be too large to be carried in the internal armoury of the F-35C fighter-bomber. Although this...

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When a virus takes over

The coronavirus pandemic has also hit the German Navy hard. However, close cooperation with the naval medical service meant that it was still able to fulfil its orders. Global crises such as Sars in 2003, the Ebola epidemic in 2014-2016 and the Zika outbreak in 2016 have already shown the need to link measures in the areas of prevention, warning and response more closely. However, by the end of 2019, most countries, including Germany, had failed to do this adequately. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak an international public health emergency. This was followed by the declaration of a pandemic on 11 March. This came as a surprise to the civilian population, government institutions and the naval medical service alike....

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