Fast, faster, naval arsenal

It was often criticised that the corvettes in Warnemünde should have a higher availability. The navy, procurement office and naval arsenal were able to remedy this with an innovative pilot project.

In 2020, the pilot project "Immediate Operational Readiness Programme - Immediate Repair Order Navy" was launched on behalf of the Inspector General of the German Armed Forces. The aim was to increase the operational readiness of the corvettes at the Warnemünde base and on deployment. At the same time, a noticeable reduction in the workload of the naval arsenal (MArs) was to be achieved in order to be able to better concentrate its own resources on repairs in the workshops.
The challenges posed by the immediate repair work lie in a wide variety of areas. For example, the naval arsenal had to provide support services in the areas of navigation, weapons and sensors from Wilhelmshaven, which is geographically very far away. Even the smallest orders, such as welding work and repairs to pressurised systems, had to be awarded to industry in a complex tendering process. This cost time, which was not only lost in the naval arsenal, in contracting or in transit by road, but above all at the expense of the availability of the corvettes.