For many years, we have been discussing the structures and necessary change processes in our defence industries, both before and after the "turnaround". This also concerned the maritime sector in particular: How should things proceed here? More or less state? National consolidation or European integration? More specialisation and niches or sticking to the claim...
1 The security policy problem situation Soon after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Baltic Sea also came under increased scrutiny. A tough, essentially security policy confrontation is once again dominating events in this part of Europe. This is being expressed in a variety of ways, with the recent increase in the number of high-profile but...
Status and developments in the Baltic states The Baltic Sea remains a troubled sea and is the focus of security and defence policy issues. Since the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in autumn 2022, the damage to Maritime Critical Infrastructure (MarKRITIS) in particular has brought the Baltic Sea into the public eye. Primarily submarine cables laid on the...
Europe's strategic interests in the Arctic "High North, low tension" was the motto until a few years ago. The Arctic seemed a remote and inaccessible place. However, progressive climate change, which is warming the Arctic four times faster than the rest of the planet, is opening up new potential and dangers. This means that the Arctic could...
The aim of deep precision strikes is to create an effect far into the enemy's hinterland. The German Navy does not currently have this capability - but such weapons could be retrofitted to the F 124 class. The term Deep Precision Strike (DPS) refers to the ability of armed forces to deliver precise...
After decades of neglect, the so-called GIUK gap in the North Atlantic is now receiving renewed security policy attention. And the navies are also turning their attention back to this strategically important region. The northern North Atlantic is an important transit area for transatlantic and global maritime traffic. It is also of considerable strategic importance as the main supply route for...
German shipping companies are concerned about the geopolitical and trade situation in the world. The President of the German Shipowners' Association (VDR), Gabi Bornheim, said at the beginning of the year that around 62 per cent of German exports and 60 per cent of imports are handled by sea and emphasised that without a strong, independent merchant shipping industry,...
The fragile ecosystems of the oceans in particular are suffering from human intervention. Despite this, only declarations of intent remain from this year's UN Ocean Conference. In June 2025, the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) was held in Nice with 175 UN member states, following New York in 2017 and Lisbon in 2022. Around 60 statesmen or high-ranking members of government took part in the...
Countless German cargo ships were abroad at the beginning of the Second World War, denied a way back home. In Indonesia, the crew of the Sophie Rickmers waited for better times. After the occupation of the Netherlands by the German Wehrmacht in 1940, numerous German merchant ships were taken off the Dutch...
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