As every year, the Berlin Security Conference 2023 (BSC) is accompanied by a partner country. The Netherlands is closely involved in the organizational process and will contribute centrally to the program. But even beyond that, military cooperation between the Netherlands and the Federal Republic is close. It is a prime example of a successful common…
The German government commissions Rheinmetall to supply 40 Mader infantry fighting vehicles. The order, worth tens of millions of euros, was placed in August. Delivery is scheduled to begin before the end of the year. The delivery brings the total number of Mader supplied by Rheinmetall to Ukraine to 80, with the Düsseldorf-based company having…
The parachute platoon of the Parachute Regiment 31 practiced parachuting near the small town of Barth in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. A converted Luftwaffe A400M transport aircraft was used for this purpose. In parachuting, the soldiers jump from the aircraft from a great height far ahead of their destination. The parachute is opened already at high altitude.…
The German and Norwegian defense ministers attended the start of production of the 212 CD program. Under the project, 212 CD-class submarines will be built. These will enter service with both armed forces as a joint program of the Royal Norwegian Navy and the German Navy. The order was placed in June 2021. The 212CD…
The defense ministers of Germany and Estonia, Boris Pistorius (SPD) and Hanno Pevkur, and Ināra Mūrniece, the defense minister of Latvia, have signed the procurement contracts for IRIS-T SLM. The Infrared Imaging System Tail Surface Launched Medium Range (IRIS-T SLM) ground-based air defense system is designed for short-range protection. It can defend against aircraft, helicopters,…
The world is spinning faster and faster. Even the military cannot escape this trend. In order not to have to shoot with old iron in this fast-moving world, innovation is needed. International competitions and conferences are the ideal platform for this. Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) is the name of the competition…
The Australian Department of Defense commissions Rheinmetall to supply naval mines. The order was preceded by a year-long market survey. Rheinmetall was able to prevail over the competition. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this year. The order is worth a low three-digit million figure. There is also the possibility of extending it. The subject of…
Senior field physician Dr. Daniel Forstner explains which injuries are common on the battlefield and how best to treat them. Although there are no exact figures on injuries in the Ukraine war, publications suggest that up to 40 percent of wounds occur in the head area. Members of the German armed forces must also be…
Rheinmetall and GDELS put the Biber armored vehicle on wheels. The motorized basis is provided by an 8×8 carrier vehicle from the HX family. Rheinmetall and GDELS see the so-called Anaconda as the latest version of the well-known Beaver bridge. The Beaver’s laying mechanism is installed on an 8×8 HX2 carrier vehicle. GDELS produces the…
During a meeting with representatives of Bosnia Herzegovina and the European Union, Secretary General for Operations Tom Goffus reaffirmed the defense alliance’s efforts in the country. Goffus welcomed the developments in Bosnia Herzegovina. However, he does not yet hold out the prospect of NATO membership. Goffus met with Defense Minister Zukan Helez, among others, on…
At the summit in Vilnius, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană reinforces the commitment to Ukraine. The country is to “move closer to the defense alliance than ever before.”On August 23, the new NATO-Ukraine Council met for the first time. It brought together representatives of NATO and Ukraine around one table. This included the President…
The “Next Generation Airborne Unmanned Close-In Reconnaissance Equipment” (LUNA NG) will be deployed in Ukraine. Rheinmetall will supply the system on behalf of the German government before the end of the year. The supply contract is worth a low double-digit million sum. The LUNA NG Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) consists of a ground control station…
In addition, the Polish Ministry of Defense is procuring an armored transport vehicle. Although the Ministry is generally satisfied with the KTO Rosomak wheeled armored vehicle from the Polish company Siemianowice Śląskie, it feels that it lacks modification options. For this reason, it is turning away from the wheeled armored vehicle built under Finnish license…
After ten years of vacancy, the Bundeswehr again took part in the Rapid Viking exercise in Iceland. The focus was on rapid logistical deployment. The participation also highlights the tactical importance of the Arctic. Tactical Air Squadron 73 “Steinhoff” flew all the material needed for the exercise to Iceland within a week. In addition, the…
Funded by the International Fund for Ukraine, Norwegian company Kongsberg is building Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems (C-UAS) for Ukraine. Several Cortex Typhon systems are to be supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces. The contract is worth £56 million. The Cortex Typhon system is designed to defend against a variety of unmanned aerial objects. To repel…
Defense against hypersonic weapons poses challenges for current air defense systems. After all, these cruise missiles – at least according to current classification – do not fly ballistic curves and remain maneuverable during flight. For Europe, they may pose one of the great threats of the future. Now the European Commission has announced its selection…
Almost three dozen Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in CBRN defense as part of the EU training mission EUMAM. They will be taught how to use the main decontamination station 70 (HEP 70) supplied by Germany. The HEP 70 is used to decontaminate vehicles contaminated with nuclear, biological or chemical agents. Two 1,500-liter tanks are…
The Romanian Armed Forces have contracted Polaris Government and Defence to deliver more than 50 Dagor tactical light vehicles. Romania is procuring the vehicles through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The light vehicles are intended for troop transport. They are assembled from commercially available individual parts and can carry up to 1.814 kilograms.…
Rheinmetall AG takes over all shares of the Spanish company Expal Systems S.A.U.. The purchase price for the acquisition amounts to approximately €1.2 billion. From now on, the Madrid-based company will be known as Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, S.A.U.. The takeover was already scheduled for last year, but required the approval of the Spanish authorities. Expal…
The land forces are the main core of defence. With the New Force Model, NATO is also realigning itself in this area. In addition to the return to regional defence responsibility, the adapted force structure is a decisive element. In the future, NATO will have more than 240,000 ready forces of the member states in…
In Germany integration of drones into civil airspace is still a problem due to reliability and safety of collision warning systems. Now sensor solutions provider Hensoldt spread the news, that it is taking the development of its collision warning system for civil and military drones to a new level. The demonstrator study for a “detect-and-avoid…
The Government of Canada has awarded Airbus Defence and Space with a contract for four newly-built Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft (MRTT) and for the conversion of five used A330-200s. The current contract has an order value of approximately CAD $3 billion or 2.1€ billion (excluding taxes). Under the agreement, the A330 MRTTs…
Tomorrow the programme of this years Berlin Security Conference will be unveiled. BSC 2023 will again make a difference. After last year’s huge impact on security policy after the start of Russian war against Ukraine, with speakers ranging from NATO Secretary General to several head of states, this year will focus more on the Indo-Pacific…
Another important decision was made in Australia. As part of the LAND 200 Phase 3 Battlefield Command Systems project, Systematic was selected as the sole bidder for the Tranche 1 Battle Management System – Command and Control (BMS-C2) software applications. Now Systematic is to implement SitaWare Headquarters and SitaWare Frontline to support command and control…
In Australia’s land forces modernisation procurement project, the Redback infantry fighting vehicle from South Korean manufacturer Hanwha has won over Rheinmetall’s Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. Both had been undergoing trials since 2021. In total, Australia wants to procure 129 new infantry fighting vehicles. ” At a cost of between $5 billion and $7 billion, the…
Today, OCCAR-EA Director Joachim Sucker and eurosam Managing Director Eva Bruxmeier signed the Amendment of the FSAF-PAAMS Sustainment & Enhancement (S&E) contract for the procurement of new generation ground based air defence systems SAMP/T NG for Italian Air Force. This procurement adds to the SAMP/T NG production ordered in January 2023 for the Italian Army…
In 2023, the Bundeswehr will participate for the first time with the German Army in the Talisman Sabre exercise in Australia. It will take place from 22 July to 4 August 2023 and consists of several sub-exercises. This is already the tenth iteration of the Talisman Sabre exercise. In addition to amphibious landings, ground force…
With the Refreshed Defence Command Paper, the British Army is drawing conclusions from the war in Ukraine. The document is also intended to set the course for the future of the armed forces. The Refreshed Defence Command Paper was preceded by the publication of the Integrated Review Refresh. That document identified Russia as the most…
The recently presented National Security Strategy makes it clear once again: “The high level of interdependence between external and internal security means that Germany’s ability to act externally also increasingly depends on its internal resilience. This resilience is the joint responsibility of the state, the private sector and society…”. However, this linkage between the civilian…
Last week the last class of operational pilots responsible for the deployment of the F-39 Gripen in the 1st Air Defense Group (1st GDA) of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), concluded the Delta Conversion Training at the Gripen Centre in Sweden. The course, conducted by the Swedish Air Force’s Phoenix Squadron, is divided into two…
The Bundeswehr plans to use the “Tactical Air Control and Communication App” (TACC app) to train fighter control officers. Parts of the learning content will be available on mobile devices.Until now, the teaching of content has been limited to stationary simulators. Training on these devices requires the presence of an instructor. By using the TAAC…
Contents of the latest German military aid package for Ukraine have just been announced at the NATO summit in Vilnius. The packet includes: – 25 Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks (from industry) – 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles (from industry) – Five Bergepanzer 2 Armoured Recovery Vehicles (from industry) – Two Patriot launchers (from…
The recently agreed enhanced cooperation between NATO and EU in the field of defence led to further results: Recently, the report of the joint task force on critical infrastructure resilience was presented. This report is accompanied by a Parallel and Coordinated Assessment of the EU Hybrid Fusion Cell and NATO’s Hybrid Analysis Branch on the…
Yesterday, Budget Committee of the German Parliament approved several procurement projects in its last session before summer break. Among them is the succession of the “Luftlande-Wölfe” (air assault vehicle “Wolf”), which are to be replaced by Caracal. Germany and the Netherlands want to procure more than 1,500 vehicles. Caracal airborne vehicle family is the result…
Yesterday, the Budget Committee of the German Parliament approved the procurement of Chinooks as new Heavy Transport Helicopters (STH) for the Bundeswehr. For the $8.5 billion Bundeswehr will not only receive 60 Chinook Block IIs with air-to-air refuelling, but also spare parts, additional systems, maintenance and programme support. “With the selection decision for CH-47F Block…
When the first drones were deployed, US forces had to provide extra personnel for evaluation. The new sensors meant more work, not less. When the new directive “Need to Share” was coined in Afghanistan by the U.S. forces and the Afghanistan Mission Network (AMN) was very quickly made available for this purpose, many nations still…
It had already become apparent in recent weeks (we reported), but now it is official: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s term of office will be extended from October onwards, for the fourth time. “NATO Allies agreed on Tuesday (4 July 2023) to extend the mandate of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg by a further year, until…
BAE Systems has successfully tested manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) on the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) C4UAS as a technology demonstration using IAI/ELTA Systems Ltd’s Rex MK II Unmanned Infantry Combat Support System. The ACV is an adaptable amphibious platform built to meet the operational needs of the U.S. Marine Corps, allowing space for new capabilities as…
The first large offset, with which German added value is to be realised on F-35s ordered to maintain nuclear sharing, has now gone under contract. And in this, Saxony lost out to North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). As Rheinmetall announced today, it has been contracted to produce the fuselage sections of F-35A Lightning II and is planning…
Germany is realigning its security policy. However, the intelligence services, as the early warning system of a robust democracy, are challenged by an unclear legal situation and rapid technological development. The intelligence services are not mentioned in the German National Security Strategy, criticises Roderich Kiesewetter, Member of the German Parliament and deputy chairman of the…
Rostov-on-Don – Voronezh – Lipetsk further in the direction of Moscow, connected with the very strong tones of Prigozhin in the direction of the Russian military leadership (not directly against Putin…). There were some surprises in the military and political assessments of the situation over the weekend. Surprise, by the way, on Saturday, especially in…
During a maneuver visit to Lithuania this morning in Vilnius, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the further development of the multinational brigade must be synchronized with the creation of the necessary infrastructure.The minister emphasized the intention to station this brigade permanently. Regular reinforcement exercises with the British and Canadians are planned, as well…
Rheinmetall announced today that it has been contracted by the Dutch government to supply fourteen Leopard 2A4 to Ukraine. Previously – in April 2023 – the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark had announced their intention to jointly acquire Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks and make them available to Ukraine. So now followed the corresponding…
“Get an idea today of what the Bundeswehr does outstandingly well!” This is how Boris Pistorius opened the Bundeswehr Day with his speech on Saturday.Earlier, the Minister President of the State of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, had emphasized the very good connection of the State of Lower Saxony with the Bundeswehr in a greeting address.The…
On June 5, Behörden Spiegel and PwC held a Pre-event in preparation for the Berlin Security Conference (BSC, November 29-30, 2023) in Düsseldorf. After a keynote speech by Minister Nathanael Liminski of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, the topic of implementing civil-military cooperation in the federal and state governments was addressed in a panel…
Officially, Jens Stoltenberg’s term as NATO Secretary General ends in September. Now, as reported by several Norwegian media, U.S. President Joe Biden is said to have asked him to stay in office for another year. “According to DN’s sources, Stoltenberg was asked directly by President Joe Biden in February to stay on. But Stoltenberg insisted…
Today, the German government presented its “National Security Strategy,” which will guide policy in this legislative period. It was a difficult road to this belated publication and the result now presented shows that the inclusion of more and more actors did not necessarily improve the clarity of the document. For example, it reads, “In this…
After a ten-year hiatus, the Bundeswehr has been active in Bosnia and Herzegovina again since 2022. As part of the EUFORE Althea mission, it is helping to ensure compliance with the Dayton Peace Agreement. The German government plans to continue the mission. The vote on the continuation of the mandate will take place on June…
A total of about 60,000 Ukrainian servicemen and women have been trained by allied nations so far, reported General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, on the sidelines of today’s meeting of NATO defense ministers. However, General Milley did not want to speculate on how the…
An interesting armament decision has apparently been made at the BMVg. As Matthias Gebauer of Spiegel reports on Twitter, the German Eurofighters are to be enabled for electronic warfare by 2030 with Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems “Arexis” from Saab – in cooperation with the company Helsing. Gebauer writes: “According to the BMVg, Saab’s system, which…
The CH-53GS/GE transport helicopters of the German Armed Forces – which were supposed to be replaced years ago – will receive new Airborne Electronic Warfare (EW) self-protection systems from Elbit Systems as part of the platform upgrade programme. The corresponding order was placed with Israeli company by Airbus Helicopters on behalf of the German procurement…
“The most serious threat for our economic development at the moment is inflation”, emphasises German Finance Minister Christian Lindner in an interview with European news agencies. All European finance ministers are determined to fight this inflation, he says. “This requires a change in our fiscal policies. The expansion of our expenditures during the pandemic and…
The existence of Taiwan and what is happening in the Asia-Pacific region are issues of high strategic importance: not only for the USA, but also for the European Union. During the visit to Taipei, the delegation of Berlin Security Conference (BSC) obtained first-hand information at the National Security Office about current situation of Taiwan and…
In France’s largest cross-army military exercise in more than 30 years, French and allied forces rehearsed the defense against a major enemy attack on a friendly country. With a manpower of 1,200 soldiers, the Franco-German Brigade took on the role of the attacker.In the large-scale exercise Orion, France and its NATO allies simulated the defense…
Hensoldt is supplying Ukraine with six more TRML-4D high-performance radars to strengthen its air defense. The order is worth 100 million euros. Delivery of the radars is scheduled for the second half of the year. The TRML-4D uses so-called Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology with multiple digitally shaped beams. It is capable of…
In Seedorf, Lower Saxony, Parachute Regiment 31 has tested and optimized a new selection procedure for the Extended Basic Qualification (EGB). It takes into account the changed operational requirements. The predecessor of the new deployment concept dates back to 2008. Paratroopers with EGB are specialized forces of the Army and trained for special tasks in…
The Bundeswehr’s involvement in the Sahel is drawing to a close. Participation in the UN mission MINUSMA will end by May 2024 at the latest. The framework conditions for an effective military engagement are no longer in place. The redeployment of the German contingent from Mali will begin on June 1, 2023. This process is…
The German armed forces have commissioned Rheinmetall to supply 57 heavy-duty semitrailer tractors with a payload class of 70 tonnes (SaZgM 70t mil). The order value for the 57 vehicles is just over €50 million. Delivery will take place between 2023 and 2024. The HX81 tractor unit has an eight-cylinder diesel engine with 680 hp.…
The NATO Partnership Training and Education Center community will assist Ukraine with its military training needs. The subject matter of the training will be cyber defense, energy security, demining, and English language instruction. Several sessions of the 22nd Annual Conference of Commanders of Partnership Training and Education Centers (PTECs) in Bogota were devoted to Ukraine.…
With a decree to accelerate procurement, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) is setting the course for the practical implementation of the Zeitenwende. Carsten Stawitzki, Head of the Equipment Department at the Federal Ministry of Defense, explains what this means in detail and how the processes will be shaped over the next six months.”Time is the…
Behörden Spiegel and PwC are hosting a Pre-Event before the Berlin Security Conference (Nov 29-30, 2023) on the topic “Importance of Civil-Military Cooperation in Crisis, Disaster and Defense”. The event will take place on: 5 June 2023 17:30 – 21:30 hrs. at the PwC building, Georg-Glock-Strasse 22, in 40474 Düsseldorf, Germany. As guest speaker, Mr.…
The U.S. Army is awarding a contract for the Javelin missile system to the Javelin Joint Venture, consisting of Lockheed Martin (Orlando, Florida) and Raytheon Technologies (Tucson, Arizona).The contract covers procurement and production support of the Javelin missile system for the Army, Marines, Navy and international customers. The contractual obligations are for the period 2023…
Georgia and NATO are linked by a long partnership. Against the backdrop of Russia’s imperialist behavior, it takes on special significance.Admiral Bauer describes the transcontinental nation as an integral part of Euro-Atlantic security. The chairman of the NATO Military Committee had a meeting with the head of Georgian military intelligence, Colonel Giorgi Sherazadishvili. The latter…
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM AC) Armament Center has awarded BAE Systems a three-year contract to continue research and development efforts to advance precision guided munitions (PGM). The goal is to support the Army’s long-range precision fire modernization effort. Consequently, further development of the XM1155-SC guided munition is the subject of the…
The security situation in the world is changing. Authoritarian regimes are trying to assert their interests by force, while emerging actors are claiming a leadership role for themselves. Under these circumstances, Germany must differentiate its security policy self-image both internally and externally.“China and Russia are authoritarian powers that want to question and reshape the world…
“Today it is commonly accepted that AFCEA Bonn e.V. is a neutral platform for dialogue,” explains Brigadier General and Chairman of AFCEA Bonn e.V. Armin Fleischmann. It took a lot of commitment on the part of the founding members to achieve this, he says. Because when AFCEA Bonn e.V. was founded in 1983, the association…
With the medium forces, the Bundeswehr closes the gap between light and heavy forces. They are intended to combine rapid deployability with striking power. In Lithuania, the Army has proven that it can cover the entire range of land operations, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) proclaims. The Light Forces excel in this respect thanks to…
In both the Strategic Compass and the Strategic Concept, the European Union (EU) calls for high resilience in civil and military defense. NATO concurs. “Persistent conflict, fragility and instability in our European neighborhood undermine our security and provide fertile ground for strategic competitors and terrorist groups to gain influence, destabilize societies and threaten our security.”…
The R&S®CA210DNG RF signal detector from Munich-based Rohde und Schwarz is being launched with integrated artificial intelligence for automated COMINT. The AI-based deep learning technology enhances the R&S CA210 signal analysis software. By using AI, the software automatically performs most routine COMINT tasks. Consequently, the analysts deployed no longer have to deal with this task.…
After the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the security architecture in Europe must be rethought. What guidelines should it follow? Kersti Kaljulaid, the former president of Estonia, asks when Russia will be able to restore its former military strength after the Ukraine war. According to her opinion and consultation with various experts, she expects…
The United States is demonstrating its willingness to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. It is expanding NATO’s reinforced battlegroup in Poland from a battalion to a brigade-level element. With this push, the United States is confirming NATO’s new force model. This envisions strengthening the Alliance’s unified response. It also follows the decisions of the NATO summit…
As part of the DOLOS Challenge of the Cyber-Innvoation-Hub of the German Armed Forces (CIHBw), participants face the task of supporting sensors with AI/software or camouflaging reconnaissance targets against computer-aided reconnaissance means. Field camouflage has been common since the First World War. Nature, on the other hand, has been using various camouflage patterns for the…
Major General André Bodemann is the new first commander of the Territorial Command of the Bundeswehr. He takes over this post from General Carsten Breuer, the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr. He plans to build on the work of his predecessor. The handover roll call took place May 15, 2023, at the Julius Leber Barracks…
The Bundestag’s Budget Committee has approved the delivery of fifty more Puma tanks to the Bundeswehr. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) sees a need for the weapon system in view of the changed security situation. “Bit by bit, the Puma is replacing the Mader, which is now forty years old,” Pistorius explained. Compared to its…
The platform under development is intended to replace the capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon. It will, however, complement the F-35 fleet. In light of the looming end of service for the Eurofighter Typhoon, the British Ministry of Defense describes the requirements for future aircraft types. The requirements are set out in the Future Combat Air…
In 2022, the European Defense Association (EDA) managed 97 ad hoc cooperative projects and programs in the areas of skills development, training, joint procurement, and research and technology and innovation. The projects totaled €672 million. As part of the publication of the 2022 Annual Report, the agency identifies three key areas of work. Listed is…
AFCEA trade exhibition, often referred to as the “Green CeBIT”, began today at the World Congress Center in Bonn. Most of the participants agreed on one point: more needs to be done in the digitalisation of Bundeswehr. While the so called White IT is at a good level thanks to the BWI, the Green IT…
With the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO, the Baltic Sea is surrounded by allies. At the same time, however, Russian aggression gives the defence of the Baltic Sea a new, vital importance for Germany. Added to this is NATO’s New Force Model, which envisages regional responsibilities for certain areas. All this requires a…
2022 was a historic year: on February 27, Federal Chancellor Scholz announced a “turning point” in German security and defense policy. This was three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On June 3, German Bundestag approved a €100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr. On June 29, NATO adopted its new strategic concept in…
Berlin Security Conference (BSC) is the annual congress on European security and defence in Europe. Held in Berlin it brings together decision makers from politic, military and industry in a closed and confident environment, where information is proceeded and binational talks are possible. Congress organisation has now published a short video for those, who missed…
Procurement in the Bundeswehr continues to falter, including ammunition. “We have given around 20 million rounds for firearms to Ukraine,” names Florian Hahn, Member of German Parliament, one example. This ammunition has still not been reordered and the soldiers are the ones who will suffer from this lack of decision-making, as they have to fulfil…
Last week, high-ranking representatives from BMVg, BAAINBw and German Navy tested the possibilities and capabilities of ship-based laser weapons at sea. The corresponding demonstrator is located on frigate Sachsen. On August 30, this frigate was the first German Navy ship to successfully deploy a laser weapon. The target at the time was a drone. Since…
Procurement reform is almost as old as Bundeswehr and to claim that its protracted nature has only become a problem in this millennium misses the point. Take the Starfighter affair, Jäger 90, transformation of the BWB into the BAAINBw. In addition, there were many rule changes, CPM (nov.) was introduced to speed up processes –…
The CV90 industrial cooperation program in Slovakia to buy 152 CV9035 MkIV continues to progress. Now Slovak company KOVAL SYSTEMS a.s has won a contract from BAE Systems Hägglunds, the producer of the CV90 family of vehicles, for the complete turret assembly of the CV90s in the Slovak program. KOVAL SYSTEMS will also produce mechanical…
The programme of the BSC has many fathers and mothers. The First Concept was developed by the BSC team and coordinated with our partner nation the Netherlands. Substantial support is also provided by the Advisory Board that we introduced in one of our last articles. All these activities result in a challenging programme with a…
Rohde & Schwarz launched the R&S ESMW ultra wideband monitoring receiver recently. That system covers the wide frequency range of 8 kHz to 40 GHz with real-time bandwidth of up to two Gigahertz. It has a target-oriented ITU-compliant RF performance, modular upgradeability and a rich feature set in order to measure current and future wideband…
Rheinmetall Defence and Lockheed Martin have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a rocket artillery system for the German Armed Forces. This system aims to maximize existing and combat proven components. Under this collaboration, the companies will explore potential joint opportunities in areas such as research and development, production and other…
The French President Macron recently called for an independent EU position in the conflict between China and the U.S. on Taiwan. An interesting but also controversial approach in the debate about the right strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. This question and how the challenges in this region affect Europe will be one of the four…
The Federal Office of Armaments armasuisse has signed a contract with the general contractor GDELS-Mowag for the production of a further 16 12-cm mortar systems. This means that a total of 48 mortar systems will now be procured under the project.As part of the 2022 Armament Program, Parliament approved a commitment credit for the procurement…
As part of the “Air Defender 23” exercise, the German Armed Forces are testing the potential and possible areas of application of so-called exoskeletons. The initial focus is on work that is easier on the back.24 nations with 220 aircraft are taking part in the Air Defender 23 deployment exercise. To refuel them, the Armed…
Rheinmetall AG is cooperating with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) in supplying the Norwegian armed forces with 54 Leopard 2 main battle tanks in the latest version (A7 NOR).Düsseldorf-based defence contractor Rheinmetall is KMW’s subcontractor for the supply of key components. These include the 120mm L55A1 weapon systems. In addition, the cooperation covers fire control technology and…
The British Army is testing heavy unmanned ground vehicles (H-UGV) for the first time. Companies that successfully participated in the Human-Machine Teaming framework program demonstrated the capabilities of their technologies to the British Army.For two weeks, so-called H-UGVs were subjected to a series of tests at the Armoured Trials and Development Unit in Bovington, Dorset.…
The German government has approved Poland’s re-export application to supply fighter jets to Ukraine. The MiG-29 fighter jets are from former National People’s Army stocks.The application to transfer the weapons systems was received in Berlin on April 13, 2023. Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) expressed satisfaction that the joint decision was reached in the German government…
Last week the Cyber Innovation Hub of the Bundeswehr (CIHBw) opened a centre for intrapreneurship. This will be the central contact point for soldiers to push their ideas and an important step in the further development of innovation work in the German armed forces. The new centre will provide soldiers with necessary skills to drive…
The new EPC-B parachute was used for the first time by instructors at the Altenstadt airborne/air transport school. The test of the new system was successful.Initial testing of the parachute was delayed due to delivery difficulties. In addition, delays in certification slowed the process even further. The new parachute is a Belgian make. The name…
Succession of TPz Fuchs armoured personnel carrier is set: Today, Germany officially joined the Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme with the signing of the Technical Arrangement (TA). The foundation stone was laid with signing of Memorandum of Understanding on June 14, 2022. CAVS are 6×6 wheeled vehicles from Finnish company Patria, which will replace…
Last week, the German Navy published its vision for the Navy 2035+, the subheading of which is “Energetic entry into unmanned systems and artificial intelligence”. The need to deter Russian aggression requires German Navy to maintain a high level of combat readiness and presence in the North Atlantic as well as in the North and…
It can be called a special moment in both senses: Almost simultaneously with the integration of the Dutch 13th Light Brigade into the German 10th Armoured Division came the official interdepartmental approval by the government from Den Hague: The Netherlands as a Partner nation of the BSC 2023. With the ceremony on March 30, 2023,…
Last week, the current vice-president and designated new president of the German procurement agency BAAINBw, Annette Lehnigk-Emden, signed a framework agreement with KMW for the purchase of up to 28 PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. In a first step, ten howitzers will be procured to replace the 14 guns that went to Ukraine. According to BAAINBw,…
On its 74th birthday, NATO welcomes a new member to its ranks. Whereas the founding meeting in 1949 was held in Washington, the decision-makers are now meeting in Brussels to mark this historic event. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg sees no “better way” to celebrate NATO’s anniversary than by welcoming a new member into the defense…
The NATO Secretary General’s Annual Report for 2022 was released on March 21st, providing an overview of the alliance’s achievements and challenges over the past year. The report highlights NATO’s continued efforts to strengthen its collective defence capabilities, enhance its partnerships with other countries and international organizations, and adapt to new security challenges. One of…
Civilian employees in Bundeswehr take significantly more sick leave than soldiers. According to Siemtje Möller, Parliamentary State Secretary, German Ministry of Defence, the average absent time due to illness among civilian employees in 2021 was 19.8 days, while soldiers were on sick leave for 5.5 days in the same year. This picture emerged in the…
We live in times where new opportunity windows are open even for individual persons. In no other era in history one was able to bring individual knowledge to the benefit for mankind in a way we experience today. One example is Ireland’s first satellite programme that is about to be launched. It was developed by…
Since the Berlin Security Conference (BSC) is a major European and transatlantic event, Behörden Spiegel decided to invite prominent personalities from EU, NATO and selected nations to support the congress. These Board Members give advice to the organizer, e.g., with regard to the subject of the programme and national / international speakers. Their portraits on…
Bundeswehr has a few systems left for air defence. For example only two MANTIS, a system for close-range protection, were procured in recent years. But nowadays air defence with more or less stationary systems gains importance, not only for Bundeswehr. MANTIS can cover a 360-degree radius of three kilometres and thus protect not only field…
NATO collects defense expenditure data from Allies and publishes it on a regular basis. The definitions set by NATO may differ from those by member states and the media. Each Ally’s Ministry of Defense reports current and estimated future defense expenditure according to an agreed definition. The amounts represent payments by a national government…
“The first projects are on their way. But by 2022, our soldiers had not received a single cent from the Bundeswehr special fund. Procurement is too slow. The troop’s workbooks have become fuller, but the clothing, ammunition and spare parts depots have not,” states Dr Eva Högl, German Bundestag’s Commissioner for the Armed Forces, in…
Lieutenant General Carsten Breuer will be the next highest-ranking soldier of the Bundeswehr. It is common for the position Chief of Defence to be filled when there is a change of government and it was clearly a sign of appreciation that the actual Chief of Defence, General Eberhard Zorn, survived the last change of government…
“You are to think that the reports that the United States Government had anything to do with the undersea blast against the Nord Stream pipelines is ridiculous. We can discount that out of hand,” says U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price. Price also expresses doubts about the other recent allegations of guilt. ” The anonymous…
Last week, Budget Committee of German Bundestag approved the call-off of soldiers’ radios within the framework agreement on Software Defined Radios (SDR) with Elbit Systems. Following a public call for tenders, German Bundestag had already approved conclusion of the corresponding framework agreement between Elbit consortium, consisting of Elbit Systems Germany, its Israeli parent company and…
This year, the Berlin Security Conference 2023 will take place again in the Vienna Andel’s Hotel in Berlin from 29th to 30th of November. After a very successful BSC 2022 it will be our aim to bringing together senior political leadership and executive military from Europe and her transatlantic allies to discuss current strategic developments…
The difference between target inventory and operational ready systems has been significant in Germany, not only in the case of main battle tanks, even before war in Ukraine started. Due to outsourcing of logistic support maintenance periods have become too long, according to reports from the Bundeswehr. As a result, the planned handing over of…
Since the fall of 2022, the German Armed Forces have maintained a combat brigade to defend Lithuania. To fasten the ties between the two nations, about 600 members of the Bundeswehr participate in a joint military exercise in Pabradė. The brigade’s liaison element is permanently stationed in Rukla. At the Pabrade military training area in…
Germany will not only deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine but also enable the soldiers to actually use the weaponry in combat. For this purpose Ukrainian Soldiers joined their German and Dutch colleagues in the city of Munster. The main goal of the operation is to teach the Ukrainian forces how to manoeuvre the tank,…
Austria will invest around €560 million in innovations for its armoured force, Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner announced on February 23. In this context, GDELS-Steyr was commissioned with service life extension of the Ulan infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), which has been in service in the Austrian Armed Forces since 2002. Modernisation includes major overhaul and exchange…
Ukraine needs secure borders. Therefore the border section along the border with Russia and Belarus will be extended to two kilometres and mined. According to Ukrainian State Border Service, this change is provided for by law. In addition to these fixed borders, however, areas must be temporarily secured in the course of liberating occupied territories.…
In his State of the Union address, President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia would no longer participate in the NEW START treaty. This suspends the last nuclear weapons protocol between the United States and Russia. The New START treaty envisages caps on the number of nuclear weapons and broad inspections of nuclear sites.The treaty went…
Energy self-sufficiency of field camps has always been a goal of military forces and housekeepers. After all, logistics chains are vulnerable, complex and expensive. But given the austerity measures of recent decades, there has often simply been a lack of funds to set up appropriate research projects for the military on the necessary scale. The…
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has highlighted the importance of a comprehensive defense capability against the full spectrum of military threats. Russia is deploying unmanned systems, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles in Ukraine many times. This highlights the importance of an effective air defense capability to counter future threats. With the European…
Sixteen NATO countries, along with invited countries Finland and Sweden, have launched a new initiative. This is designed to transform the way NATO collects and uses data from space, significantly improve NATO’s intelligence and surveillance work, and support NATO’s military missions and operations. The initiative, called Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS), consists of establishing…
The German Ministry of Defense has awarded Rheinmetall a contract on behalf of Ukraine to supply 35mm ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft gun tank. The Ukrainian Forces will receive a total of 300,000 rounds. The main goal of the ammunition is to support the Ukrainian armed forces. These forces are using the Gepard in the…
The “Zeitenwende” is more than just a word. It is an instruction that needs to be convertred into armaments efforts, cohesion, a comprehensive approach, defence strategy and national security policy. Major General (ret.) Reinhard Wolski, chairman of the Berlin Security Conference, summarizes the discussions throughout the event on the Blue Sofa. Watch the entire interview…
There is a lot of confusion around what the German “Zeitenwende” actually means. MP and BSC congress president Wolfang Hellmich visited our Blue Sofa and talked on speed and aquisition in the context of the special funds earmarked for the German armed forces and the legal hurdles that go along with it. As well as…
Paid by the Bundeswehr Special Fund, Bundeswehr Medical Service is receiving new airborne mobile rescue centres. Among other equipment the light medical facilities, in which emergency medical and surgical first aid is provided to patients, have an ambulance, an operating theater and intensive care capacities. Last week, German procurement agency BAAINBw commissioned the company M.…
The special fund of €100 billion is a statement and symbolic number for the will of German government to transfer Bundeswehr into a capable and empowered armed force again. After more than a decade of cost-cutting, which was named focus on deployment, capability for national and alliance defence is at stake. Shortage within Bundeswehr starts…
NATO’s strategic concept, which has been resolved in Madrid, focuses on collective defence and regional responsibility. With this it heralds a shift of paradigm. Rightfully so, says General (ret.) Jörg Vollmer, Strategic Advisor for the BSC and Behörden Spiegel. In this shift the European section of NATO needs significantly increase it’s contribution to European Defence…
In the event of war, Germany makes up an important transit country. The necessary competences and forces for this, need to be carried by society as a whole. Lieutenant General Martin Schelleis, Chief of the German Joint Support and Enabling Service, emphasizes the current tasks for the German Joint Support and Enabling Service on the…
The Norwegian government announced that it is procuring 54 Leopard 2 A7 for the Norwegian armed forces. The German Leopard thus prevailed against competition from South Korea, among others. First of these new battle tanks are to be delivered to Norway as early as 2026. “The new tanks will increase combat power of our armed…
More than 130 obstructions were caused by drones at Germany’s airports in 2022. The use of these often very small systems – especially by individuals – continues to increase. Now the Bundeswehr University in Hamburg has developed a drone that can intercept unauthorised drones at airports. The system was developed as part of FALKE research…
Britain’s new Ajax armoured vehicle is back on track. “We have turned a corner,” UK’s Minister of State for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence, Alex Chalk, told the Commons Defence Committee. “A great deal of work has taken place and it has successfully completed its trials.” As recently as the end of December,…
Berlin Security Conference (BSC) 2022 was a big success. The Conference was particularly focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both with regard to the main programme and the panel discussions. But the lines of action in NATO’s new Strategic Concept and relations with the EU’s Strategic Compass were also key points in our talks and…
Ukraine’s fight for freedom is supported by almost every democracy in the world, with money, humanitarian assistance and military equipment. Weapon systems from Sweden have been quite successful in fighting off Russian invasion. Micael Johansson, CEO Saab AB, Sweden talks about changes for industry in a country joining NATO, about the performance of Saab’s weapons…
Hensoldt has agreed to cooperate with the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Technology FHR with the aim of transforming the technology demonstrator GESTRA (German Experimental Space Surveillance and Tracking Radar) into a series-production ready, operationally deployable system called Custodian. “Based on the GESTRA technology, a global network of ground-based radar systems can…
Silvia Petig, Head of Women In International Security (WIIS) Germany, speaks about the origin and contribution of the network to the role of woman in security. WIIS was established in the mid-1980s in the United States by Madeleine Albright. In Germany, the association was created as late as 2003 and membership numbers have doubled since…
Andreas Hannemann, second in Command of the I. german-dutch Corps of the Bundeswehr speaks about leading position the corps takes in 2023 at the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). He states that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine the major change occurred in their mind, since the threat and tasks…
Timothy Flood, Director Boeing Defense and Space, talks about capabilities P-8A Poseidon will bring to the German Navy, the plan to partner with German industry to support Germany’s CH-47F Block II Chinook fleet in-country and the impact digital technologies have on warfighting capabilities in the future.
The symposium “Prospects for Defence Industry” of the German Society for Defence Technology (DWT) ended yesterday. During these two days speakers provided well-founded insights into the current material and procurement situation of Bundeswehr. “The problem of ammunition is most urgent,” said Hubert Blahnik, Deputy Head of Equipment Department, German Ministry of Defence. At the same…
Frank Leidenberger, chief digital officerat BWI, talks about the state of digitisation in the Bundeswehr. He explains that the goals set in 2017 have not been achieved yet. He continues by naming 2 reasons for this being the case. First, he states that money was and is a key problem because even with the large…
Lieutenant General Dr Ansgar Rieks, Vice Chief of German Air Force, talks about the next generation weapon system (NGWS) and the future combat air system (FCAS). He explains that there are two key components to realise this project: First there must be the operative idea that was born to combat an enemy with immense anti…
In a visit to Berlin this Tuesday NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked Defence Minister Boris Pistorius for Germany’s significant contributions to NATO and strong support to Ukraine. Stoltenberg praised Germany’s considerable contributions to NATO deterrence and defence at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused the greatest challenges for our security in…
Today, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany will supply Leopard 2 main battle tanks to the Ukrainian armed forces. He said this was the result of intensive consultations between Germany and its closest European and international partners. “This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability,” said Chancellor…
Technology is ready for “Third Wave Artificial Intelligence”, specialists say. After First Wave, where humans programmed the what-if-algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) simply used these, and Second Wave, where humans fed AI with data and it found statistical correlations by itself, Third Wave aims to develop an AI that is not restricted to one specific…
Bundeswehr is – finally, after a long procurement process – getting a new standard assault rifle. Yesterday, representatives of the management of manufacturer Heckler & Koch and project managers of BAAINBw met at the German procurement agency BAAINBw in Koblenz to finalise last contractual details. From 2026, Bundeswehr will receive G95A1 assault rifle as a…
Marc Akkermann, head of the capital city office at infodas, speaks about how cross-divisional cooperation and communication in different security branches can be achieved. In his first answer he stated, that there were some branches that have been opened to interdivisional information and security exchange, but there are still larger security silos that need to…
Major General (MD) Dr Stephan Schoeps, Deputy Surgeon General of the Bundeswehr, speaks about the high quality in healthcare personnel at the Bundeswehr that was established in the 1990’s and the switch in structure that is currently being planed and worked towards. The goal is to create a paramedic division. A task that comes with…
U.S. Army continues to enhance their Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS). A 5 year frame contract has been awarded to American Rheinmetall Systems. Within this contract precision subsystems including high-definition image stabilized EO sensors (day cameras), weapon mounts and other critical assemblies can be delivered to support the Army’s CROWS Program. CROWS systems allow…
As part of modernization of the French Air and Space Force a contract to upgrade the avionics on French CN-235 tactical transport and logistics aircraft has been awarded to a consortium formed by Sabena technics and Thales. The 27 twin-turboprop aircraft will be upgraded with state-of-the-art avionics to allow integration into general air traffic, significantly…
Yesterday, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht resigned, and today Chancellor Olaf Scholz appointed Boris Pistorius (62), the long-serving Minister of the Interior of Lower Saxony, as her successor. On Thursday, Pistorius will receive his certificate of appointment from the German President and take his oath of office in the German Bundestag. “I am very pleased…
A new era, changing era or – in German – Zeitenwende is needed in Germany. And it is needed on several levels: strategically and mentally. This was emphasised by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at last year’s Berlin Security Conference (BSC). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed the dawning of a new era at last year’s Berlin…
Hungary was launch customer for the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) developed by Rheinmetall on the basis of Puma expertise. The Hungarian Ministry of Defence ordered a total of 209 Lynx in seven variants in September 2020, delivery of the first IFV from Hungarian production is scheduled to begin this year. The first German-built Lynx…
United Kingdom will probably be the first nation to supply Western-produced main battle tanks to Ukraine. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a telephone conversation. Zelenskyy thanked him afterwards on Twitter: ” Always strong support of the UK is now impenetrable and ready…
Russia’s attack on Ukraine will soon enter its second year. This unprovoked attack has led to a reassessment and a change in security thinking across Europe and the world. It is a war in the middle of Europe in a time when most people thought, that an aera of peace, understanding and respect has started.…
European Defence Agency (EDA) launched a new project to improve technology on automatic targeting on January 13, 2023. The project also includes threat recognition and identification to enhance battlefield effectiveness. “Automatic target/threat recognition, identification and targeting for land systems (ATRIT) can help militaries in detecting, tracking, prioritising and selecting targets, whether off the top of…
Last week, Israeli company Rafael and German company Hensoldt signed a cooperation agreement to enable German Eurofighters for electronic warfare. Rafael announced: “Together, we endeavor to provide the Sky Shield airborne electronic warfare pod as a mature off-the-shelf Escort Jammer (ESJ) developed by Rafael, enhanced with the latest airborne electronic attack technology (KALÆTRON Attack) by…
Last week, Budget Committee of the German Bundestag released the funds for two projects. Accordingly, around 7.5 million euros are available for equipping soldiers with modern headsets, including hearing protection. Budget Committee approved as much as 97.4 million euros for procurement of “intelligent” ammunition for the German self-propelled howitzers 2000 (PzH 2000). For 7.5 million…
Uncertainties surrounding the supply of communications links vital to the survival of Ukrainian armed forces continue. No networked operations without Starlink, the dependence on this civilian provider is too big. At the same time, however, Starlink’s owner, Elon Musk, proved how uncertain this reliability is. After Starlink first enabled Ukraine to have a chance against…
Australian Army’s Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle achieves Initial Operational Capability (IOC). On this occasion Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, announced the Boxer’s success in meeting Australian Army’s stated operational needs, paving the way for Boxer to be deployed on operations. Gary Stewart, Managing Director Rheinmetall Defence Australia, stated: “Boxer CRV…
Any air defense needs a reliable reconnaissance and surveillance. Bundeswehr signed a contract for five deployable Ground Exploitation Systems (GES) recently. These GES are part of RAFAEL RecceLite aerial reconnaissance system used by German Air Force. To enable high mobility and rapid availability in different deployment scenarios, all GES will be realised for transport by…