Certainly planned for a long time, but nevertheless to be seen in the context of the invasion of the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan: an informal friendly visit by the frigate Tatarstan to the harbour of Bakú, the capital of Azerbaijan. Even if only for two days with an emphatically culturally guided tour of the city and a football match, the...
The Argentinian navy has already been able to significantly expand its maritime surveillance capabilities with the purchase of the four French Adroit OPVs alone. In order to complete this further, Argentina is now purchasing four Lockheed P-3C/Ns that have been decommissioned in Norway for around 60 million euros. The P-3N, which is equipped more for Norwegian SAR tasks, differs from the...
For the German Navy, too, this means a return to a focus on national and alliance defence. In an interview with marineforum, Vice Admiral Frank Lenski, Commander of the Fleet and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, talks about the resulting willingness to take on responsibility, current problems and the importance of those serving in the reserves. Mr Admiral,...
The Armada currently has eleven frigates: From the 1980s/90s, six slightly modified replicas of the American OLIVER H. PERRY frigates of the SANTA MARIA class (F80, 138 metres, 4,000 tonnes) and five frigates of the ALVARO DE BAZÁN class (F100, 146 metres, 6,200 tonnes, German-Dutch-Spanish design, built by Navantia) from 2002 to 2012....
It is not only the large companies that are benefiting from the significant increase in Spanish defence spending, but also the small drone manufacturer Alpha Unmanned Systems (AUS), based in San Sebastián de los Reyes north of Madrid. It manufactures the Alfa 900 miniature unmanned helicopter, which the Spanish Navy is using during the...
The OCEAN OSPREY (67 metres, 2,300 tonnes) was purchased by the Spanish Navy's Logistics Command from the shipping company Navaleva SL in mid-September for around 15 million euros in order to be available in future as a multi-purpose logistics vessel and tug for the Armada from the Ferrol Naval Arsenal (north-west Spain). Ten years ago, the...
There is no longer a Ukrainian navy - at least not to any significant extent in terms of tonnage or flagstaff. Nevertheless, its opponent, the navy of the Russian Federation, is not invulnerable, as the head of the German navy was quick to point out. The Ukrainian forces are currently pooling all resources from Western arms supplies...
When a devastating fire broke out on the Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego in mid-July 2020, resulting in the total loss of the carrier ship, it would have been possible to intervene successfully with the automated systems available today. Could have! Of course, the Bonhomme Richard made hair-raising mistakes in the organisation of the firefighting...
The surface drones of the Ukrainian naval forces will only be effective as long as the Russian navy has not developed effective defence tactics. The next logical step is to shift the dynamics below the surface. Ammo Ukraine has now used its ingenuity and engineering skills to develop such an underwater drone. Marichka is said to be six metres long and...
At their meeting in Oslo in mid-September, the NATO Chiefs of Defence agreed to extend the mandate of Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee by a further six months until November 2024. He will then be succeeded by the Italian Chief of Defence, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. With this...
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