Sabotage, suspicion and broken anchors

The Inspector of the Navy appeared in Berlin with the new format Navy Talks in front of the press

Inspector of the Navy Jan Christian Kaack during the "Navy Talks" 2025 in Berlin Photo: Schlüter

Unfortunately, news about maritime events does not always find the recipients it needs to turn knowledge into action. Hardly anyone knows this better than Vice Admiral Jan Kaack. So he decided to go to the capital, invite the press and thus give maritime news the Berlin label. This has a different effect than reporting from the coast - sorry Rostock. Under the motto "Navy Talks" in the Ministry of Defence's visitor centre, the Navy's press relations team, led by frigate captain Christina Routsi, came up with a new format. With around 20 people in attendance, the plenary session was well attended by a number of people already known for their naval expertise. The inspector himself opened the plenary session with the question, "What is actually happening on the Baltic Sea? (..) and how long does it actually take you to realise that your anchor has slipped? Why does a Russian research vessel with mini submarines need 300 days instead of 10 from Skagen to St Petersburg?". The inspector was concerned about this and shared his findings with those present, how he assesses hybrid hazards and who is behind the fact that cables are destroyed almost every month and anchors are allegedly lost. He described the latter from the perspective of a sailor with a clarity that must convince even the last sceptic that this does not happen accidentally. He also made it clear that there had been proven attempts to sabotage German warships, attempts to make contact with soldiers and intrusions into bases from land and sea. His conclusion: they are trying to unsettle our society, they are testing us, literally "they are possibly creating the basis for later active military activities. A strong east wind is blowing."

Inspector of the Navy Jan Christian Kaack and Head of PIZ Christina Routsi during the "Navy Talks" 2025 in Berlin Photo:Schlüter

He also presented the measures taken by the navy, from the headquarters in Rostock to initial operational measures such as the upgrading of mine defence forces with an increase in diving depths. Work on an officially coordinated situation picture with a combination of civilian and military satellites, wind farms, industry, research institutes, ships and coastal radar stations as well as underwater sensors is important to him in order to create a comprehensive picture of maritime activities underwater and above water. "As the Navy, we are ready to work together with our federal and state partner authorities to ward off hybrid attacks on maritime infrastructure. And if this can only be achieved by military means, the legal framework should also be in place. True to the Minister's motto, what we can't use is not knowing what we are allowed to do when we have to do it. And we also offer to take responsibility for a national maritime situation picture for all authorities. However, he also emphasised that we must not only focus on the Baltic Sea, but must also take into account the navy's mission to ensure the security of the northern flank.

The threat from Russia is even clearer today than it was two years ago, said Kaack, repeating his deduction that Russia would be in a position to seek a conflict with NATO in 2029. He gave concrete examples of the means by which the navy, which is short of available units, intends to do this, such as the expansion of the capabilities of the frigate 125 and a number of small innovations, including the test campaign of the Blue Whale underwater drone. Unfortunately, the inspector lamented, the processes required to introduce such innovations are still in place after testing, which he referred to literally as "Valley of death" and wanted the navy to be more dynamic and autonomous. However, all measures and projects require sufficient personnel and, as always, the navy suffers from this more than other parts of the Bundeswehr. The goal of recruiting 10% more people into the navy has been exceeded with 15%. But that is still not enough. He expressed his gratitude for the successful competition for trainees, as around 1000 young people were able to gain experience of the "The magic of the navy" are recorded. In order to move towards war fitness and credible deterrence, there are also things that are in our own hands, such as the requirement that every marine soldier must pass the shipboard serviceability test. There will be no new large warships until 2029, said Kaack, and we have to make do with what we have. With the words "Availability, availability, availability" analogous to his previous priority "ammunition, ammunition, ammunition", he pointed out the dilemma of maintenance and delays. This is probably why he announced that he would soon be adjusting the 2023+ course, but did not provide any details in the subsequent Q&A session. In the Q&A session, Jan Kaack repeatedly confirmed the findings about the Russian hybrid approach. The fact that acts of sabotage had taken place seemed to have attracted particular attention. The event ended after an hour. A new way of maritime communication? Certainly. If you are not heard from the supposed maritime province, you have to preach at court. And Vice Admiral Kaack did this with the necessary seriousness, a pinch of humour and he brought plenty of sea air to Berlin. Let's just hope that this fresh breeze in the capital city and elsewhere will also provide good ventilation in the parlours. It would be necessary, because these insights urgently need action. For example, not to doubt the 2% target. The fact that he welcomes this goal was the only political statement made by the inspector, namely in response to the question of what he would be prepared to say at the general election.