In mid-January, the USS John F. Kennedy cast off for her final voyage. After 39 years of service and almost two decades in retirement, only the scrapping yard awaits the once proud ship. The John F. Kennedy was put into service on 7 September 1968, the last conventionally powered aircraft carrier to...
New coalition agreement fulfils many of the recently articulated expectations of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungsindustrie e.V. (BDSV) In recent months, the BDSV had formulated clearly defined prerequisites for a further increase in industrial capacities in favour of rapid equipping of the Bundeswehr with its "BDSV 10". Many of these expectations are being...
Training mission as a NATO deterrent? NATO appears to want to increase its deterrence in south-east Europe: As the headquarters of the Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO, Oeiras/Portugal) reported via its social media channels last weekend, modern Italian F-35B fighter jets had recently carried out a "training mission" over the Black Sea in...
So now it's raining money. The latest budget decisions in the German Bundestag provide the armed forces, in our case the navy, with a unique opportunity to rapidly improve their operational capability. However, instead of uncritically pouring this blessing into the industry's coffers, the additional funds must be used wisely and in a targeted manner. By 2029...
According to press releases issued by the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence and the Finnish Navy Alutech on 7 April 2025, Vilnius is acquiring two multi-purpose operational boats worth 22 million euros. The units, developed on the basis of the Watercat M18, are intended for the Lithuanian Navy and are to be assigned to the coastal defence battalion. Latvia has also already formally...
Seafaring! A profession with adventure, hardship and privation. Not many young people dream of going to sea. This job description seems too far removed from everyday life, life on the high seas too intangible. No office job, no work-life balance - but plenty of responsibility, team spirit and prospects. Now in the ZDFmediathek: "On...
540 days away from home On 11 April 2025, the frigate "Baden-Württemberg" returns to Wilhelmshaven. The frigate had set sail on 20 October 2023, initially to take part in UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon). The subsequent Indo-Pacific Deployment (IPD) then took her around the world. Ports were...
In July 2024, the South Korean shipyard Hanwha Ocean signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement with the US Naval Supply Systems Command to expand both its maintenance business and its relationship with the US Navy. And the US Navy is relying on these capabilities to address its lack of shipyard capacity, labour shortages and cost and distance issues in the...
The Ministry of Defence is procuring thirteen new boats for the Royal Netherlands Navy to replace the current Fast Raiding Interception Special Forces Craft (FRISC). The contracts with the De Haas Maassluis B.V. shipyard in Rotterdam were signed in March, and the first so-called Future Fast Interceptors...