German Navy studies ballistic missile defence

from JNI May 06

German Navy studies ballistic missile defence
Nick Brown
The German Navy has revealed that it has plans underway to develop a theatre ballistic missile defence (TBMD) role for its Sachsen-class (F-124) anti-air warfare frigates.
Rear Admiral Hubertus von Puttkamer, defence attaché at the German Embassy in the US, described the plans during the 12th annual Attaché Day event at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space symposium in Washington DC.
“I was stunned when I got the information from my staff,” he said, “so I got them to check and it is true.” The frigates have all the necessary basic components of a TBMD system already in place on the vessels, he added, pointing to the ships’ Mk 41 vertical launchers – which could accept Raytheon’s Standard Missile 3 interceptors – and Thales SMART-L advanced radar system.
Lead ship FGS Sachsen joined the fleet in November 2004 and since then, “the crews have been thrilled with the radar”, Rear Adm von Puttkamer stated. “They can track satellites and they really didn’t expect to be able to do that.”
Germany’s TBMD plans are still in their early stages of development but are apparently firmly on the navy staff’s planning table.
It is currently unclear if Germany plans on formal engagement with the Royal Netherlands Navy’s own TBMD upgrade programme for its De Zeven Provincien-class frigates announced in January 2006. However, both vessel types are fitted with the same radar system so there are obvious synergies.