Inspector-General of the Navy Wolfgang Nolting has published a 4-page article (in German) in the magazine Europäische Sicherheit.

Some current developments, including confirmation of events:

The third EGV has been included into budget planning (per BwPlan 2008). The navy expects to finish contract arrangements (including design changes) by April 2008, and propose procurement to parliament in Summer 2008. Planned commissioning would be 2012.
NH90 NFH (MH90) requirement for the German Navy has been downsized to 30 helos. The navy is evaluating “alternatives” (including SLEP for the Sea Kings). The MH90 final order is still expected to be signed around late this year or early next year.how old are the German sea kings because both Canada and Australia have had huge problems with their fleet
Type 212A SSKs second batch has been ordered and is building, first delivery in 2008 (second 2012). Nolting emphasized that the SSKs are needed for conventional naval warfare, and that such a capacity is mandatory despite the current emphasis on asymmetric warfare.
The commissioning of the first two K130 corvettes is “imminent” in his words (all that’s been released so far was “sometime in 2007”)
The P-3C acquired from the Netherlands are still in preparation process at Nordholz airbase. The Navy expects to have one P-3C ready for deployment by the end of the year, and considers this “urgent”. A likely deployment named is Horn of Africa in support of OEF-HoA, where a MPA has apparently been repeatedly requested by the US Navy.
F125 – nothing new, same old vague stuff we’ve been hearing for the past half year.

And now for the big stuff. Nolting has added two new projects to the currently-under-development BwPlan 2009 (page 4 in the article).

“Joint Support Ships”, including military sealift capability. No details. And yes, “JSS” is the official project name.[B]seems the Germans are interested in the Canada JSS concept i think that kind of ship would be perfect
The successor project for the 10 Type 143A FACs – a class of six corvettes of a new type.

more in german:
http://www.europaeische-sicherheit.de/Ausgaben/2007/2007_09/02_Nolting/2007,09,02.html

U212A – 2ndBatch
As submarines with their broad capability spectrum may also be part of such task forces, the requirement planning of the German Navy suggests a total of six submarines. Two units to be procured in the future are now being developed on the technical basis of the already available four boats. These two boasts of the second batch are going to have a few upgrades which include: more efficient fuel cells, high-energy batteries, longer detection ranges, improved communication systems, improved signature reductions, missile employment, anti-torpedo defence, employment of special forces as well as the possibility to conduct unlimited world*wide missions.
After the Budget and Defence Committees of the German Bundestag (Lower House of Parliament) had given their approval to the procurement, the contract between the Federal Office for Military Technology and Procurement and TKMS was signed on 22 September 2006. The boats are to be built by the ARGE 2nd Batch U 212A consortium consisting of the TKMS shipyards HDW and NSWE and are scheduled to be delivered in the years 2012 and 2013. The new order comprises an amount of approximately 864 million euros and safe*guards jobs and ensures militarytechnological core capabilities of the German shipyard industry and their suppliers.

Changes in Construction
As far as the architecture of the boat is concerned, the second batch will be more or less identical with the first one. The length of the submarine will be extended by 1.2 m to 57.2 m, however. This extension will be in the tower area for the integration of an additional extractable device for SHF SATCOM. The employment in worldwide missions also necessitates the adaptation of the air conditioning system to tropical conditions. An adaptation of the magnetic self*protection system is also required. Was the delivery of frogmen/attack swimmers in the first batch still to be executed via the torpedo tubes, this will be changed in the second batch and effected through a separately installed swimmer airlock hatch. This measure will increase the safety and security and the efficiency in the delivery and engagement of Special Forces. In addition, there is now also the possibility for a compression-proof storage of their accompanying ordnance.

Source: http://www.european-security-and-defence.com

Joint Support Ship for the German navy

Joint Support Ships for the German navy

There is a consideration of the German navy, which emerged in the past years always again to use : A ship, with which troops are regarded ready lake, outside by territorial waters, as an employment. A ship that with its communicationses the guidance of an operation can support. A ship, which is sent flexibly there, where the German Federal Armed Forces are to stand into the international employment in a coastal country ready.

Before the spoke of the General Naumann, if the speech came on this virtual ship, designated after the general inspector at that time and later chairman of the NATO military committee. From this plans however nothing became. Into the 1990-er years was called the project Einsatztruppenunterstützungsschif (ETrUS) and failed like so much because of the missing money. The utterance of an admiral, it is not unforgotten has anything against it if the army orders such a ship – and the navy it then operates.

Now there is a new approach, and that has the armed forces-common beginning already in the name: Joint support Ship is called the new project, naval inspector Wolfgang Nolting to the German Federal Armed Forces plan 2009 to already take up left. The new ships are to fulfill among other things the demand after a secured military sea-deployment capability.

As it is right itself, also all this is embedded into a concept that the naval inspector in a name article in the magazine describes European security: The concept is called “basis sea”, a conceptional beginning for development the lake, in order own forces in the context of armed forces-common operations over and of lake time-fairly, flexibly, to a large extent independently shifts, holds ready, leads, protects and to support to be able.

Navy will gets third Fleet Support Ship

So that it does not come starting from 2010 no more to these bottlenecks, the navy is to get now as fast as possible a third Fleet Support Ship of employments. The Ministry of Defense took up this project to the budgetary planning for 2008.

Thus the new building could already come 2010 in full swing. The ship is to become a sister the 2002 activated servicers “Berlin” and “Frankfurt/Main”. The 200 million euro expensive new building is to displace 174 meters long and approximately 20200 tons. The working group Flensburger shipbuilding company and Lürssen, which built also the two first servicers in Flensburg and chess rope village, has good chances on the order.

Christening of corvette for the German Navy on the name OLDENBURG

The fourth out of a series of five class 130 corvettes for the German Navy has been christened today on the name OLDENBURG attended by high-ranking guests from the German Federal Ministry of Defence, the German Federal Office of Defence Technology and Procurement, as well as various guests from the politics and economy.

The christening took place in the building dock 6 at Blohm + Voss in the harbour of Hamburg. Godmother of the ship is Dr. Annette Schwandner, wife of the mayor of Oldenburg, Dr. Gert Schwandner.

The invitation to the ceremony was made by the ARGE K130 – consisting of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ yards Blohm + Voss, as lead yard, and Nordseewerke (Emden) as well as Fr. Lürssen Werft (Bremen).

The main task of the new class of corvettes will be intelligence-gathering and surface target attack. High mobility and combat strength combined with a considerably higher endurance enable this vessel to act even in remote sea areas. The Class 130 corvettes will replace the missile-carrying fast patrol boats of the Albatros Class. These boats do not fulfil the requirements for future operational profiles. The home port of the new corvette class will be Warnemünde.

The K130 project is of high importance to both the German naval shipbuilding industry and the supporting industry. It strengthens their core business in key technologies. Regarding the platform and marine systems and the weapons command and control systems, the K130 features numerous innovations. A novel transport route concept assures short routes and optimum accessibility.

Both in design and construction of the K130, the ARGE tries to get as close as possible to large-scale-production. Therefore, Blohm + Voss deliver corvettes Nos. 1 and 4, Fr. Lürssen Werft corvettes Nos. 2 and 5 and Nordseewerke corvette No. 3.

Main characteristics:
Length DWL: 82.80 m
Moulded breadth, max.: 13.28 m
Breadth DWL: 12.44 m
Draft DWL: 3.40 m
Sea endurance: 21 Days
Range: >2500 sm
Full-load displacement: approx. 1.840 t
Speed: >26 kn

The two patrol boats from the German fleet are old coast guard (police) patrol boats (Bremen 2 und Bremen 9)…here two pics….

606 million Euros for an F125, eh?

Thats right, 656.000.000,00 Euros for each Frigate F125….

German Frigate Class F125