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 publicise maritime news with the label Berlin to provide. 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 questions, "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 instead of 10 days to travel from Skagen to St Petersburg?". The inspector was preoccupied with this and he shared his findings with everyone present as he explained the hybrid hazards and who, to his knowledge, is behind it. He clearly described the fact that cables are destroyed and anchors are allegedly lost almost every month from the perspective of a sailor. This should have convinced even the last sceptic that this does not happen accidentally. He also made it clear that Proven sabotage attempts on two German warships which are located in German shipyards. There were also attempts to make contact with soldiers and multiple intrusions into bases on land and at 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 consequences in the navy, from changes at the headquarters in Rostock to initial operational measures such as the expansion of diving depths to strengthen the mine defence forces. Important to him is the work on a 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, to create a Comprehensive picture of maritime activities under and above water to create. "As the Navy, we are ready to work together with our federal and state partner authorities to defend against hybrid attacks on maritime infrastructure. And if this can only be achieved by military means, the legal framework for this should also be in place. True to the Minister's motto: What we can't do is not know what we are allowed to do if we have to do it. And beyond that, we offer to take responsibility for a National maritime situation picture of all authorities." However, he emphasised just as clearly that the focus should not only be on the Baltic Sea but must also take into account the Navy's mission to ensure the security of the North flank to ensure that

The Threat from Russia is even clearer today than it was two years ago, said Kaack, and repeated his deduction that Russia would be in a position to seek a conflict with NATO in 2029. He used specific examples to explain the means by which the navy, which is short of available units, intends to do this. These include 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 not in place after testing, which he referred to as "Valley of death", and wished for more Dynamics and Ownership of the navy. However, all measures and projects require sufficient Personneland the navy has been suffering from this to a particular extent for a long time - and more than other parts of the Bundeswehr. The target 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 internsbecause in around 7000 days of work experience, around 1000 young people were able to benefit from the "The magic of the navy" are captured. On the way to "war fitness" and credible deterrence, however, some things are also in our own hands. For example, there is now a requirement for every serviceman and woman in the navy to pass the On-board service capability to be laid down. However, as there will be no new large warships until 2029, Kaack said, we will 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 2035+ course, but did not provide any details in the subsequent Q&A session. In response to specific questions, Jan Kaack repeatedly confirmed his findings on Russia's hybrid approach. The fact that Acts of sabotage The events that took place in the past seemed to have attracted particular attention.

The event was over after an hour. A new way of maritime communication? With certainty! 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 plenty of sea air, which he had brought with him 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 realisations 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 - when asked what he would be prepared to say about the general election.