Category: Armed Forces

Moscow's gateway to the Pacific

Moscow's gateway to the Pacific

Gepostet von | 8 Dec 2022 | , , , , | 0

Russia and Japan have been at odds over the Kuril Islands for decades. After the latest developments, is the archipelago a strategic challenge for Moscow? Located between the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka and the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, the Kuril island chain forms a gateway out into the Pacific and into the Sea of Okhotsk, the backyard of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Shortly before the end of the Second World War in the Pacific, the Soviet Union completely occupied the island chain in September 1945. While Russia's claim to sovereignty over the northern islands of the Kuril Islands is undisputed, Japan claims the four southernmost islands for itself and justifies this with historical...

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Arms exports must bear the label "European" to a greater extent

Arms exports must bear the label "European" to a greater extent

Gepostet von | 6 Dec 2022 | , , , | 0

When sirens wail in Kiev these days, people not only fear for their families and loved ones in the bunkers. They also hope that the air defence system will intercept the Russian war terror attacks against their city. For this to succeed, Ukraine is dependent on the support of its international partners. An arms alliance has been forged to stand up to the Russian invasion. Within this alliance, the German government must take on the task of organising arms deliveries in such a way that Germany acts as a reliable European partner. An arms export control law, which has been agreed in the coalition agreement, must create the legal framework for this, among other things. A few weeks ago, the...

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New mine defence vehicles for European navies

New mine defence vehicles for European navies

Gepostet von | 25 Nov 2022 | , , , , , | 0

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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Sailing in the wake of the kite

Sailing in the wake of the kite

Gepostet von | 24 Nov 2022 | , , , , | 0

In recent decades, China has continuously upgraded its navy with strategic foresight. Its democratic neighbour India, on the other hand, has largely failed to build up its maritime capabilities. Now could be the time to change course. Indians upset by recent images of Chinese naval vessels in Indian Ocean ports such as Hambantota (Southern Province of Sri Lanka, editor's note) and Djibouti would have been pleased to learn that on 15 August, nine Indian Navy warships in seven ports worldwide - one on each continent - flew the Indian flag to mark the 75th anniversary of independence from Britain....

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Death in a typhoon

Death in a typhoon

Gepostet von | 21 Nov 2022 | , , , | 0

The creation of the S.M.S. FRAUENLOB was largely due to a Berlin "women's association". In 1860, the schooner sank in a storm off Japan. Everything had actually started quite well. After the need for a navy to protect the German coast became apparent during the First Schleswig-Holstein War, various patriotic institutions had successfully campaigned for the construction of warships. From today's perspective, the fact that the initiative to acquire a warship came from the Berlin-Potsdam Women's Association was remarkable and decisive for the creation of the FRAUENLOB. As early as the first year of the war, it published an appeal for donations in the local press and was able to raise a considerable sum. In addition...

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