Category: Security policy

Quo vadis, Navy?

How should the German Navy develop in the long term in the face of changing times, demographic trends and bureaucratic restrictions? Eight experts share their views on the current concept paper Marine 2035+. Published on 28 March 2023, the Marine 2035+ target vision is a concise paper that deals with naval tasks and fleet structure in a clear and concise manner without lingering in the cloudy style of many other strategy documents. The implied goal-means-route relationship is remarkably illuminating. The clear underlining that the navy is a capital-intensive project, while at the same time pushing unmanned systems - in poker jargon: all in - stands out positively. The future fleet structure...

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Always at the height of the war picture

Today, as a hundred years ago, it is crucial that the naval armament is appropriate to the threat. But this is precisely what the German navy lacked. "If you want peace, arm for war". When, if ever, in 175 years of naval history was the fleet equipped to meet the threat, and are we today? The image of war is the basic idea of the nature of a possible future war, its manifestations, means, intensity and the effects on military warfare. It is the backdrop for a general strategy with strategic objectives and the resulting consequences for the orientation of military means at operational and tactical level. If naval warfare assets effectively support an overall strategy, the fleet is positioned in line with the threat....

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On inspection in the port of Hamburg

Internationally agreed rules are designed to protect seagoing vessels and their crews from external dangers. The inspectors from the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency work with their police colleagues to ensure compliance. "Thank you very much for your cooperation, captain!" Manfred Feindt concludes the inspection on board a container ship in the port of Hamburg. Feindt is a nautical inspector at the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) and works in the S 42 Maritime Safety Division. Today he has three police officers from the Hamburg Waterway Police in his entourage. They are new to their posts and are accompanying him to learn what is important...

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Transport at low altitude

The Pentagon is planning to introduce a type of aircraft that combines the advantages of a transport aircraft and a ship. However, the idea is not entirely new. The Liberty Lifter concept aims to combine the advantages of ground effect vehicles and flying boats to create a high-performance system. Ground effect vehicles are aircraft that fly exclusively just above the surface of the sea, utilising the increased lift and reduced drag created by the interaction between the wings and the water surface. Flying boats, on the other hand, have the same flight behaviour as conventional aircraft, but use a hydrodynamically shaped hull or floating pontoons for water landings. The Liberty Lifter could be used for a range of applications between...

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How much of a "maritime champion" do we actually want to be?

The first port of call for advice on all maritime issues, a bridge between science, practice and politics with a comprehensive view of the sea and the world: who else in Germany fulfils this role if not the navy? Germany has become increasingly maritime over the past 30 years - with its economy, but also in its foreign policy. The navy has played an important role in this. But where do Germany and its navy stand today? Geopolitical and pandemic-related shocks to global supply chains are reinforcing tendencies towards renationalisation and protectionism, and the strategic tunnel vision of Russia threatens to obscure the view of the world. While the Russian navy is making port visits, joint manoeuvres...

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