Category: Marines from all over the world

Sea sick

Only a few countries have hospital ships, despite the great advantages. A possibility for Germany? The Helgoland's deployment in Vietnam ended 50 years ago. From 1966 to 1972, as a hospital ship in the Vietnam War, it was the German response to the American request for military assistance. The German government had the seaside resort ship converted into a hospital ship with 150 hospital beds. The German Red Cross took over the sponsorship. The Helgoland's first mission took it to Saigon, after which it was transferred to Da Nang in the north. At that time, the important US Army base with its 350,000 inhabitants had just 500 hospital beds...

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Moscow's gateway to the Pacific

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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New mine defence vehicles for European navies

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

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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With high-tech towards the rising sun

In view of the growing threat situation in the region, Japan is modernising its navy. In-house developments are complemented by purchased technology in the best possible way. Japan has the sixth longest coastline and the sixth largest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. More than 90 per cent of Japan's foreign trade is conducted by sea. In line with its maritime interests and the exposed location of the island state, Japan maintains the second largest navy in Asia. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (Kaijo Jieitai) - known internationally as the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) - currently has a total of 155 units, including supply vessels, patrol vessels and auxiliary vessels. The vast majority of the fleet is domestically produced. The majority...

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