Category: Armed Forces

First German RBS 15-shot against land target

The RBS 15 Mk 3 guided missile has been in service with the German naval forces together with its weapon platform, the class 130 corvettes, since 2008. Due to the comparatively heavy weight of its warhead, it is categorised as a heavy naval missile. It can be used against both sea and land targets, for example against military infrastructure or missile launchers. The target data is generally not provided by the corvettes' own sensors, but by other sources, such as forces on land deployed as spotters or the Sea Falcon drone deployed on corvettes. Until now, the corvettes had only fired the heavy sea target missile against sea targets. Now...

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Unmanned systems for maritime security

It hardly needs the confirmation of the Ukraine war to demonstrate the ever-growing importance of unmanned underwater, surface and airborne systems for maritime security. Camcopters are currently being used by Denmark, Iceland and Romania, among others, for maritime and border surveillance, supported by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The US Navy is testing a SeaGuardian drone with electronic and communication sensors during its major Rimpac 2022 exercise. The US 7th and 5th fleets are rehearsing the use of unmanned systems in exercises with allied partners. The Royal Air Force reports successful trials with drones to saturate enemy air defences and Israel...

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Kiel defies all upheavals

Geography determines the strategic and military policy significance of the navy, which is stationed in and around Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, to a disproportionately high degree. As a strategic partner, Kiel's naval shipbuilding companies are highly relevant in terms of security, economic and employment policy as well as technology. Kiel has traditionally been closely associated with the navy. This goes back to two epoch-making strategic military decisions that still shape the city today: firstly, the decision of the Frankfurt National Assembly on 14 January 1848 to build the first German imperial fleet, with Kiel becoming the main war port of the German navy, and secondly, the order issued to the city of Kiel on 24 March 1865 immediately after the end of the German-Danish War...

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The naval arsenal mobilises

On board the floating units, the servicemen and women are to carry out more repairs themselves again. They receive support from the naval arsenal. In this day and age, you might ask yourself what the headline is supposed to mean. Is the naval arsenal calling in reservists for support? Has it recently started using its own boats in order to be more mobile? To answer these questions, a short preface is necessary. The Inspector General of the German Armed Forces, General Eberhard Zorn, has commissioned the Navy to take the lead in addressing the issue of immediate repairs in order to increase operational readiness. By January 2021, cooperation with the Naval Arsenal (MArs) in...

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Small forces, big impact

The Swedish navy also reduced the number of its units after the end of the Cold War. However, Putin's annexation of Crimea in 2014 prompted those responsible to change their minds. On 18 May, the Swedish government officially submitted its application to join the NATO defence alliance. At the same time, NATO headquarters in Brussels received an application for membership from neighbouring Finland. In addition to the two Scandinavian countries, NATO itself will also benefit greatly from the accession - once all hurdles have been cleared and all 30 existing NATO member states have given their approval. Both countries bring modern and highly trained armed forces to the alliance, whose respective priorities...

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