The state of the German Navy's armaments

Vice Admiral Rainer Brinkmann

The poet and writer Eugen Roth once wrote:

Man hopes piously and silently,
that he will get what he wants one day;
until he succumbs to the madness
and ultimately wants what he gets.

One cannot help but get the impression that Eugen Roth had an inner sense of how Armour sometimes takes place in today's armed forces.

From the question of what the Marine and what she actually gets is the subject of this article.

It is in the nature of things that Armour in the Marine must be designed for the long term. The planning, procurement and utilisation process for complex weapons systems does not take years, but decades. The fact that we need to change this is certainly necessary, but not the subject of my article. However, we must recognise that systems that are still in the Marine Some of the systems in operation were conceived, designed and procured in the 1970s. We are therefore well advised to look far ahead, not to follow short-term fashions that are currently in vogue and to derive operational requirements reliably and with a view to the future.

Armour in retrospect

The last 30 years have seen significant, but quite explainable, breaks in the derivation of operational requirements. While it was still comparatively easy to define and equip a threat-appropriate force structure that corresponded to the Alliance's operational planning and fitted into the geography in the era of East-West antagonism, reunification and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to temporary helplessness. Suddenly surrounded by "friends", buzzwords about eternal peace and the "peace dividend" began to do the rounds. The result was a significant reduction in the size of the armed forces and painful cuts in funding.

When it then became clear that, with the loss of the formative power of the East-West conflict, completely new challenges were emerging worldwide, international crisis management came into focus and became the dominant factor in the orientation of the armed forces. It was overlooked that the Russian bear is still a predator and does not want to be provoked in its den, mindful of the cordon sanitaire surrounding it. It was only when Putin used military means to retrieve gifts that had previously been handed over to him that we realised that Europe is not immune to possible military conflicts. The renaissance of national and alliance defence as the second pillar of the conceptual orientation alongside international crisis management was initiated.

The conceptual and security policy framework

But are we once again following a temporary phenomenon?

I don't think so, and we would do well to remember a few key points and framework conditions that are relevant for our security policy positioning and therefore also for our armaments planning orientation:

1. Territorial integrity is part of our raison d'être. It is the only way to ensure that the state and its citizens can develop in peace and freedom. This statement brings national and alliance defence into focus.
2. Our geographical location is unchangeable. We have to take our very specific geographical conditions into account more than others. We must have the capability for blue water operations as well as brown water operations.
3. Global economic interdependencies and our vulnerability to disruptions to a rules-based order give rise to an undeniable need to contribute to international crisis management. The global deployment of our armed forces must be taken into account in our planning if we want to protect ourselves against crises striking back from the periphery to the centre of Europe. For such missions, the Marine Thanks to their wide range of instruments, the legal regimes that apply in the maritime area and their ability to conduct long-term operations, they are predestined for this role.
4. The challenges in the maritime region are growing. Whereas in the past our focus was primarily on protecting sea routes, because our economic success is based primarily on foreign trade conducted by sea, completely new potential conflicts have recently come to the fore: the proliferation of weapons in crisis areas, as we observe in the Mediterranean (Operations Irini and Unifil), the increasing disputes over resources and raw materials in the maritime space, exemplified by the tensions between Turkey and Greece, and finally the growing importance of the high seas as an escape route to flee one's own misery and set off for a new future (Aegean, Mediterranean).
5. We find security and solidarity in the community of values of the West. But solidarity is not a one-way street: just as we can expect our partners to look after our interests, we must also be prepared to provide support in a spirit of solidarity even if we may not have an original or primary interest in our partners' initiatives. However, alliance capability requires a broad portfolio; we must be able to contribute to all types of modern naval warfare, we need naval warfare assets that allow us to operate on, under, above and from the water.
6. Time moves fast. To ensure that we are not always chasing a future that others may have already won for themselves, we need to be better equipped than before to adapt technological trends and integrate them into our (defence) planning and operations. This starts with maritime cyber warfare, drone technology and the "underwater information space" and extends to tele-maintenance, modularity, user-friendly control panels and possibilities derived from artificial intelligence and augmented and virtual reality.

Looking at our current fleet, it quickly becomes clear that there is a huge backlog in order to make us fit for the future. There is a need for both a numerical increase and qualitative restoration of the fleet as well as a partial expansion of the capabilities. It is obvious that concepts, procedures, structures and some cherished habits and views will have to be adapted in line with this modernisation.

The status of selected defence projects

The following comments on selected armaments projects are intended to illustrate the path we have taken to modernise our fleet.

The most visible milestone of the renewal is the arrival of the Class 125 frigate, which is primarily tailored to the operational requirements of the IKM: tactical fire support from sea to shore, the ability to take action against asymmetric threats at sea, support for operations by specialised forces and a distinctive command and control capability are characteristics of the design of these ships. Two units have already entered service, and the other two will be commissioned next year.

These frigates also represent a quantum leap in operational and conceptual terms. The units are technically designed so that they can remain at sea for up to two years. This is possible because we are simultaneously realising a multi-crew model that allows us to replace the crews as planned. This model, in turn, requires a deployment and training centre at each location, where the crews are prepared for deployment at home. As a result, this approach means that we produce more deployment and operational availability with fewer ships and that seafaring nevertheless becomes more attractive, as it can then be planned for the crews.

There is still a considerable distance to go before the entire system is fully operational, which is mainly due to the fact that the realisation of the operational training centre is not keeping pace with the influx of ships. This in turn has an impact on the timeline for the deployment of the eight crews.

The successors to the current U 212A class are to be larger and more powerful. (Image: Bundeswehr/Björn Wilke)

The additional procurement of five more Class 130 corvettes, which have been granted to us by politicians, is progressing very well. With this second batch, we are increasing the number of modern, powerful surface combatants that can operate both near the coast and - with restrictions - in oceanic waters. The Marine deliberately opted for a supplementary procurement rather than a new development in order to utilise synergies in areas such as training, supply and operation.
With KÖLN, EMDEN, KARLSRUHE, AUGSBURG and LÜBECK, the corvettes will bear traditional names from the German Navy and thus also the anchoring of the Marine in the company. The units will be stationed in the 1st Corvette Squadron in Warnemünde with a total of ten units. The operational availability of the KÖLN as the first unit of the second batch is expected in 2023. All units should then be ready for operational service in the fleet by 2026.

As the corvettes in the first batch are already showing signs of obsolescence in various systems, it is currently being examined whether the break-free construction of a third batch to replace the first batch would be a sensible solution. Such a solution would also be attractive in terms of industrial policy, as it would ensure reliable planning and continuous capacity utilisation.

With the decommissioning of the class 122 frigates (LÜBECK will remain in service until 2022), the German Navy including submarine-hunting capabilities. The burden of maintaining capabilities now rests on the Class 123 frigates, which the Marine Despite the capability adaptations already undertaken, the new aircraft will undergo extensive modernisation in the areas of sensor technology, missile armament, self-protection and Eloka. The installation of a towed array system for underwater detection is also planned. Even if the frigate loses its organic helicopter with the decommissioning of the Sea Lynx Mk 88A (the successor type cannot be permanently embarked for reasons of space), it will still be upgraded to a very assertive unit with special capabilities in submarine hunting.

The Class 180 multi-purpose combat ships will be a particular highlight in the concert of our combat ships. This ship will be realised in an initial quantity of four, optionally six units for worldwide deployment across the entire intensity spectrum. They will also be capable of long-range anti-submarine warfare using towed sonar. The project builds on the existing concepts of the Class 125 frigate with the intensive usability of the ships, significantly reduced crew numbers compared to units already in service and the multi-crew model. The contract was concluded in June 2020. This combat ship is expected to be operational by the end of the decade.

Suppliers and boats

Our reliable but outdated SPESSART and RHÖN tankers are to be replaced in the near future. The new fuel supply vessels will be able to do more than the conventional ones. Greater supply capacity, improved operational safety, greater speed, a helicopter landing deck and additional embarkation options for personnel are just some of the key differences. The first ship is expected to arrive in 2024, the second ship a year later.

The U 212CD (Common Design) project may apply to underwater modernisation. As part of an extensive co-operation with Norway, the procurement of two additional submarines is planned, which will significantly surpass our U-212s in terms of size, endurance and capabilities. The capability requirements for the boat have been largely agreed between Norway and Germany. The German Navy The extensive cooperation with Norway is not limited to joint procurement; it also includes operation, logistics and training. In addition, the "old" U-212s will be brought up to the latest state of the art as part of a refit programme over the next few years.

Measured against the claim to be capable of multi-dimensional naval warfare, however, the part relating to operations from sea to land is still missing. Something is happening here too.

Of the various initiatives to improve tactical manoeuvrability on the water, one example is the planned procurement of market-available operational boats, such as those we are planning for our green Marine has in mind. Following a market survey, we currently have our sights set on the Swedish Combat Boat 90 (CB 90). Over the next few weeks, it will be tested by the troops and WTD for its suitability for our requirements. This type of boat should, for example, enable us to improve harbour protection and coastal apron surveillance, facilitate the movement of task forces ashore over longer distances, carry out evacuations by sea, provide amphibious sub-capabilities together with the Netherlands and control maritime traffic. If the boat proves to be suitable, nothing stands in the way of its procurement in the near future.

Aircraft

Our surface units naturally also include an airborne component.

The obsolete Mk 41 Sea King, which will reach the end of its service life in 2023, will be replaced by eighteen NH90 NTH Sea Lion helicopters. As a naval transport helicopter, the NH90 NTH will be used as an on-board helicopter for the task force provider and as a means of providing search and rescue services. Delivery of the first helicopters to the Bundeswehr began in October 2019 in the "Step 1 configuration". The Marine commenced flight operations in June 2020. The final Step 2 configuration will be delivered from the end of 2021; in June 2022, the fleet of Marine be filled up.

The NH90 has been flying for the navy for several months. (Image: HelispotterMV)

The Sea Lynx Mk 88A shipboard helicopter (BHS), which has been in operation since 1981 and is a key effector and sensor for the frigates, will reach the end of its service life in 2025. The successor to the Sea Lynx Mk 88A will be realised via the "organic, flying component system network combat ship" project. This project includes both manned components (BHS) and unmanned components (UAS). In a first step, the manned component is to be realised in a planned quantity of thirty aircraft. Based on the NH90 NTH Sea Lion, the NH90 NFH Sea Tiger was selected as the aircraft type to be procured as a "multi-role frigate helicopter" (MRFH). Compared to the NH90 NTH Sea Lion transport version, the MRFH will also have a sonar system and weapon stations for torpedoes and missiles. It is planned to integrate the Sea Tiger into the F 124, F 125 and MKS 180 frigates. This BHS is an essential component for anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare in the so-called combat ship system network. Bi- and multi-static submarine hunting is optimised by the use of the BHS. In addition, the on-board helicopter supplements or enhances the capabilities of the frigates through reconnaissance, situation picture and target data transmission, weapons deployment, effect control and tactical air transport during boarding and evacuation operations.

Sea Falcon undergoing trials (Image: Bundeswehr/Marcel Kröncke)

With the Sea Falcon (project name VorMUAS - Urgent Marine Unmanned Aircraft) makes the Marine the first step into on-board aviation with unmanned systems. The BRAUNSCHWEIG corvette will be the first unit to receive an unmanned aerial system (UAS) of the Skeldar V-200 type. This rotary-wing UAS will considerably expand the reconnaissance and action horizon. The border tests carried out so far have been very promising. There are still (resolvable) questions relating to the system's certification under aviation law. Nevertheless, the project will provide valuable insights for all subsequent systems in both operational and operational terms.

The decision in favour of a rotary-wing UAS was made due to the potentially larger payload capacity. Optical and electronic sensors can be realised in parallel if necessary. The Sea Falcon is not capable of being armed and this is not planned for the follow-up system either.
Our P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft are also getting on in years. The originally planned modernisation with new wings and avionics has been cancelled due to the complexity, costs and time involved, in order to examine whether other solutions such as leasing or purchasing alternatives available on the market might be suitable. It is undisputed that the versatile capabilities of the maritime patrol aircraft are indispensable in ASUW and ASW. A decision is urgent, as the usability of the P-3C Orion is finite due to increasing obsolescence.

Summary, open points and appeal

With this potpourri of selected Defence projects should be the end of it. As a precaution, however, I would like to point out that many other Defence projects have already been initiated. This includes the regeneration of the fleet service boats, the mine countermeasure units, the tenders and the tugs, as well as the gradual replenishment of the ammunition, FK and torpedo stocks.

In view of the upcoming complete overhaul of our fleet over the next decade, it may seem as if the cornucopia has been poured out on us. This is true to a certain extent, but the limits of our financial resources are already becoming apparent. In view of the wear and tear and the age of the fleet, however, the modernisation process that has been initiated is urgently needed.
For the optimism that the Marine I have often been ridiculed in recent years for looking forward to a lilac-coloured future despite the "misery of everyday life". But I still stand by my statement. However, this future has to be won, and that requires an all-hands-on-deck manoeuvre!

It may also give us confidence that politicians - I have the impression - have recognised that they need to pay more attention to the maritime region. However, one thing must also be said: As we move into the future, we will not see ships, flying systems and munitions running out earlier than planned. We will have to be prepared to endure setbacks and delays. But the prospect of the "fleet of the future" with its balanced, versatile range of capabilities, combat power and attractive "operating models" should be worth the sweat of the noble brow! The future has begun!

But before the euphoria gets the better of me and I'm accused of being a fantasist, I'd like to mention a few challenges that we still have ahead of us:

• We need to drive forward the ability to communicate internationally in general and the fleet's leadership capability in particular, which is associated with keywords such as the German Mission Network, the corresponding refit of our units and the relocation of the MOC and Fleet Entry Point to Rostock, with verve and against procedural toughness. Otherwise, we will foreseeably replace the management of the fleet with the issuing of letters of marque!
• We need to address the issue of ballistic missile defence in future Defence projects The threat is growing, as are the expectations of our partners.
• We need to analyse the topic of maritime cyber warfare comprehensively in order to incorporate the possibilities and limitations into armaments and operational planning.
• We need to pay even more attention to drone technology, especially in view of our geographical location.

Dear readers!
I have tried to outline a great future in a comparatively small article. As I mentioned, this future needs to be won. However, this will only succeed if everyone is part of the solution and not part of the problem. It remains for me to apostrophise an advertising slogan from the automotive industry: Think Blue!

Author: Vice Admiral Rainer Brinkmann is Deputy to the Inspector General of the Marine and commander of the fleet and support forces.