The German Mission Network aims to maintain the Navy's command and control capability. Harmonisation and standardisation should significantly expand capabilities. Digitalisation optimises the assertiveness of the armed forces and increases the operational capability of the Bundeswehr as a whole. For the armed forces, digitalisation is a key element for information, command and effectiveness superiority. But also to improve...
With the SeaSnake, Rheinmetall is launching a significantly improved weapon station onto the market. It is installed for the first time on the frigates 126 for the German Navy. On 12 October 2000 at around 10:30 a.m. local time, the USS Cole began a routine refuelling operation in the port of Aden, Yemen. A few minutes later, the...
The US Coast Guard is making progress on the construction of the new heavy icebreaker class. Bollinger Shipyards began cutting the first steel plates for the first Polar Security Cutter (PSC) class unit at Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding in August. The type ship, the POLAR SENTINEL (PSC-1), is the first heavy icebreaker in 50 years to...
In the presence of Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius, TKMS held the firing start for the construction of the new submarine class 212CD. The navy is already hoping for a follow-up. When the contract for the U 212CD project was signed on 8 July 2021, the Navy was still cautious: construction of the first submarine of the new class could begin in...
It is not only Germany that is focussing on environmentally friendly technologies to protect the climate. This requires huge quantities of raw materials, which are to be extracted in deep-sea mining in the coming years. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and its implementing convention of 1994 regulate deep-sea mining under the direction of the International Seabed Authority ISA. It currently has...
The time for downsizing seems to be over in Operational Flotilla 2. The challenges of the future can be mastered with new ships and modern systems. Operational Flotilla 2 in Wilhelmshaven is the largest operational unit in the German Navy. With the frigates, it has the platforms with the broadest spectrum in terms of capabilities,...
With the EU-funded Miricle project, European navies will benefit from high interoperability and new capabilities in the field of mine defence. Naval Group Belgium plays a key role in this. The Mine Risk Clearance for Europe project, Miricle for short, which is continuing in the shadow of Russia's unexpected attack on Ukraine,...
New ideas for equipping maritime special forces were presented at a symposium. This will significantly expand their area of deployment. The annual conference organised by the US Joint Special Operations Command (Socom) was expanded for the first time this year to include additional interest groups. Under the name SOF Week 2023, the...
International experts meet at the invitation of GIDS and iFMS Naval officers and scientists from five continents recently exchanged views on maritime strategies and security in Hamburg's Speicherstadt warehouse district. They accepted an invitation from the German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (GIDS) and the interdisciplinary research focus Maritime Security (iFMS)...
The car freighter Fremantle Highway, which caught fire off the Dutch coast on the night of 25 to 26 July, was brought into the nearest Dutch port of Eemshaven and moored there after more than a week in which the ship was in a critical condition. This incident caused a great deal of...