Category: Armed Forces

With flash-bang mode

New ideas for equipping maritime special forces were presented at a symposium. This will significantly expand their area of deployment. The annual conference organised by the US Joint Special Operations Command (Socom) was expanded for the first time this year to include additional interest groups. Called SOF Week 2023, the conference took place in Tampa, Florida, in May. More than 15,000 visitors - including many members of friendly armed forces - were counted over the course of the event. In addition to the presentations and panel discussions, the main attractions were the more than 575 exhibitors from the defence industry. The range also included many operational systems and equipment for...

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"We will return to the fixed link between platform and crew"

In September 2021, Frigate Captain Kenneth Harms took command of the 1st Corvette Squadron in Warnemünde. Now he is turning his attention to new tasks. In an interview with marineforum, Harms summarises his time in Warnemünde. Your squadron is developing, what will you remember fondly and what worries you? First and foremost, I think back to what constitutes the core responsibility of a squadron commander. I was allowed to be at sea with my crews, accompany training sections and lead tactically. Pursuing every endeavour right up to the last consequence so that the Sea Falcon drone could be reconnoitred and the RBS 15 missile...

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Change of leadership in the US Navy

The current Deputy Chief of Staff is to become Chief of Naval Operations. This is the first time a woman has headed the US Navy. On 21 July, US President Joe Biden nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to succeed Admiral Michael Gilday as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). In principle, this decision was expected. At the time of her appointment as Vice CNO in September 2022, Franchetti, born in 1964, was already considered the favourite for the highest post in the US Navy. However, at the beginning of June, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin recommended the appointment of the current commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Samuel Paparo, for the CNO post. Speaking in favour of Paparo...

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The Stuka wreck in the Adriatic Sea

The Stuka fighter-bomber is one of the best-known aircraft of the Second World War. A well-preserved specimen was found in the Mediterranean a few years ago - and has still not been recovered. Countless objects of military-historical significance lie at the bottom of the seas. Every single object is something special that needs to be discovered and deciphered. It is often fishermen who provide the first clues through the use of bottom trawls - by accidentally catching loose or broken objects or through repeated unexplainable net markers in sea areas that are actually considered "clean". Recreational and professional divers sometimes discover unknown historical sites, especially when diving outside of known dive sites.

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The Ukraine war and the Black Sea

At first glance, the Russian-Ukrainian war appears to be a purely land-based conflict. However, the epochal conflict also has a maritime dimension. When Russian President Putin brought the "Great" or state war back to Europe on 24 February 2022, a new era began, and not just in European history. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's words about a turning point in world politics describe this very aptly indeed, even if it still does not seem to have really sunk in in some people's minds. So far, there is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine, which means that we do not know what will happen next or what the end will look like....

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