{"id":931,"date":"2026-02-03T16:30:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meerverstehen.net\/?p=931"},"modified":"2026-02-03T17:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:07:48","slug":"why-there-will-be-no-german-aircraft-carrier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/warum-es-keinen-deutschen-flugzeugtraeger-geben-wird\/","title":{"rendered":"The German aircraft carrier - a floating fantasy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Update on 03\/02\/2026<\/h3>\n<h2><strong>The German aircraft carrier - a floating fantasy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>He's back. At least in the media. The German aircraft carrier doesn't sail, doesn't cost anything and isn't moored anywhere, but it is discussed with astonishing reliability. That's obviously enough. While Greenland is being talked about as if it only needed to be moored there for a short time, this ship is also reappearing. The question is no longer whether Germany has an aircraft carrier. It's why people are still asking when it obviously exists. In texts anyway. Even the name is circulating. It doesn't matter who invented it. The important thing is that someone is testing it.<\/p>\n<p>If fact-checkers - like correctiv - feel compelled to check whether something exists, then there is doubt. At least as a debate. The German aircraft carrier is not an item of armaments, but a reflex. It always appears when reality becomes a nuisance and symbolism is more convenient. It needs no shipyard, no personnel and no budget. Just a few headlines. It's probably sailing right now. Invisible. Silent. Emission-free. In comments. If \"correctiv_org\" is already dealing with this topic, then there must be \"something to it\" - read for yourself<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/correctiv.org\/faktencheck\/2026\/01\/16\/deutschland-hat-keine-flugzeugtraeger-nach-groenland-geschickt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><button class=\"mfo-button\">Read Correctiv article<\/button><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong><br \/>\nSupplement 26.11.2024<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>A topic that goes through time ... Today a commentary by marineforum editor-in-chief Holger Schl\u00fcter on the visit of the British aircraft carrier in Hamburg and why Germany still does not have its own aircraft carrier.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It comes back every year - the discussion about a German aircraft carrier! Has Germany's security situation and its importance in the world changed to such an extent that a national carrier capability is necessary? Why should Germany invest a lot of money and effort - it takes around 20 years to fully develop a carrier capability - in a capability that is already available in Europe?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/241124-Hako-Britischer-Flugzeugtraeger.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><button class=\"mfo-button\">Listen to NDR report<\/button><\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Article from May 2012:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h2>Why there will be no German aircraft carrier<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Incidentally, it is quite revealing that in such discussions there is usually talk of <em>only one German carrier<\/em> as if the supporters already realised that there was no money for more than one ship. Prestige and reputation are not arguments, by the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Aircraft carrier eats fleet<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not only the construction of a <strong>Aircraft carrier<\/strong> costs an enormous amount of money, the mere operation of which tears deep holes in the defender's coffers - our European neighbours can tell you a thing or two about it. The ship itself is not enough, aircraft and weapon systems have to be procured and pilots have to be trained, and this has to continue for decades. The current procurement of the F-35C, the carrier version of the F-35 Lightning II, by the Royal Navy is causing the British an enormous headache. Operating a carrier comes at the expense of other platforms and capabilities: Carrier eats fleet!<\/p>\n<p>These circumstances have meant that France and the UK have, until not so long ago, been seriously considering the possibility of <strong>Aircraft carrier<\/strong> to procure and operate jointly. These considerations have since been shelved, ultimately because the foreign and security policy objectives of both countries occasionally diverge. National interests therefore stand in the way of such cooperation - for now!<\/p>\n<p><strong>The European solution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The fact that security with aspiration is the <strong>Aircraft carriers<\/strong> and support groups should be clear. Since European interests are indeed global, there is also a need for a carrier capability in European hands. Even if the European mills grind more slowly than some would like and we are still a long way from a truly European understanding of security, something will happen and the integration of the European armed forces will be one of the catalysts.<\/p>\n<p>Pooling &amp; Sharing was not just a topic at the NATO conference in Chicago; in view of the tight European and British budget situation, it has become a necessity. The budgetary pressure will unleash unimagined creativity! Consider that France and the UK, unlike Germany, have not yet made the necessary adjustments to their armed forces to reflect the reality of their budgets (!).<\/p>\n<p>European consolidation will therefore come from this direction, and Germany could contribute in various ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Why not German aircraft on American, British or French carriers, depending on the situation and mission? The Eurofighter is also available as a carrier version!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Aircraft carrier<\/strong> are always accompanied, Germany could concentrate on providing the escort ships.<\/li>\n<li>In any case, Germany could contribute to the costs, as we are getting used to it at other construction sites. But it is also true that those who pay, also decide!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Instead of Germany laboriously acquiring a new capability for itself, existing European structures should be utilised sensibly. This would enable Germany to make an essential contribution together with our European and alliance partners.<\/p>\n<p>Germany does not need <strong>Aircraft carrier<\/strong>! What we need is a true European understanding of security that recognises the need for European <strong>Aircraft carriers<\/strong> then derives by itself. And of course Germany could and should make a contribution here!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post Scriptum<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, the Federal Republic of Germany already had a carrier: it was called \"Schleswig-Holstein\", was largely stationary and, with around 120 aircraft on two runways in Eggebek and Jagel, was very powerful! Back then, naval warfare was still practised and practised from the air. <em>A small insertion for the Luftwaffe: naval warfare from the air is more than just flying over water! But that's another story.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Update am 03.02.2026 Der Deutsche Flugzeugtr\u00e4ger \u2013 eine schwimmende Fantasie Er ist wieder da. Zumindest in den Medien. Der deutsche Flugzeugtr\u00e4ger f\u00e4hrt zwar nicht, kostet nichts und liegt nirgendwo, wird aber erstaunlich zuverl\u00e4ssig diskutiert. Das reicht offenbar. W\u00e4hrend \u00fcber Gr\u00f6nland gesprochen wird, als m\u00fcsse man dort nur kurz festmachen, taucht auch dieses Schiff wieder auf. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":41419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,33,486,41],"tags":[99,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,78,119,120,121],"class_list":["post-931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sicherheitspolitik-blog","category-blog","category-headlines","category-technologie-blog","tag-deutsch","tag-deutschland","tag-europa","tag-europaeisch","tag-flugzeugtraeger","tag-frankreich","tag-gemeinschaft","tag-grossbritannien","tag-gsvp","tag-haushalt","tag-kooperation","tag-marine","tag-sicherheit","tag-traeger","tag-verteidigung"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53069,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931\/revisions\/53069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marineforum.online\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}