Mil News Western Europe Military News

[muck]

Germany picks NH90 to replace Sea Lynx

Germany has selected the NH Industries NH90 as the replacement for its navy's 21-strong fleet of Westland Sea Lynx 88A anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters.

www.flightglobal.com

Apparently, we will get 31 Helicopters+ 18 NH90 sea Lion, which were ordered earlier. Not bad, if you consider that right now we have around 40 Sea King and Sea Lynx.

Regarding the eight H145M recently acquired for land-based SAR operations – the article mentioning that order also says Bell Helicopters had taken part in the tender as well, offering one of their products but losing to Airbus on grounds of commonality. Does anyone happen to know which helicopter type that was? A representative of the 42-series, perhaps, or maybe even their revamped Hueys?

 

[Fish&Chips]

Apparently it was the Bell 429 aka GlobalRanger.

 

[Fish&Chips]

From 2020 on, active German military personnel will be able to use all trains of Deutsche Bahn for free for both on-duty and off-duty travels if they wear their uniform. This deal has now been sealed by the new MOD Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. In turn, the ministry will pay an annual flat fee of EUR 4 million to Deutsche Bahn.

 

[muck]

That "deal" and Deutsche Bahn's lack of patriotism only goes to show this country's silly attitude towards its military. The Federal Government is the only shareholder of Deutsche Bahn – its one and only owner. When you own 100% of a company, you don't need to pay that company to do your bidding.

 

[Fish&Chips]

Well, it's just some shifting of funds, you know. Take some from the MOD and transfer it to the traffic department via DB...

 

[muck]

Apparently it was the Bell 429 aka GlobalRanger.

I'm somewhat surprised they didn't try to offer us the UH-1Y. Per Bell's website, crew members certified to fly earlier Huey models could retrain as quickly as within eight weeks to fly the Super Huey (although they don't state if that timeframe pertains to all crew members). At any rate, we've still got a whole lot of Huey jockeys left, and a whole host of people to repair those birds, and a whole lot of facilities geared towards the Huey.

So - it's weird. You need good arguments to beat a country's domestic defence industry. I can only surmise that (provided there was a real bidding contest going on in the first place) that someone here in Germany had said "Never again." to the Huey. It's been said a lot that the Huey is too big for air ambulance / search and rescue assignments in this country. Then again, it's been serving in that role for decades.

 

[muck]

German soldiers get a pay raise ()

The Federal Government has decided to bolster Germany's military's recruitment efforts through a pay raise. Whilst current base salaries remain largely unchanged, the system of allowances will get a dramatic boost (up to 47%).

Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan or Mali will receive up to 141 € (156 $) for each day served in-theatre in addition to their base salary (i.e. 25380 € or 28150 $ for a rotation of 180 days). Speciality assignments (like those of submarine crew members) will receive a pay increase of 700 € (776 $) flat. Moreover, a variety of specialities not yet eligible to allowances are set to receive their own.

 

[Fish&Chips]

German soldiers get a pay raise

Must be the travel booking bureaucracy's budget freed up with the recent railway deal.

 

[Fish&Chips]

I'm somewhat surprised they didn't try to offer us the UH-1Y.

Costs. The 429 in the basic version allegedly comes at $7.5M while the Huey Y costs more than thrice.

 

[muck]

@Fish&Chips

They have no time to lose bolstering recruitment. The Federal Government at long last approved the additional posts required for "Army 4.0". According to the reform plan, the Federal Defence Force is set to grow from the current all-time low of 182.000 troops to 203.000 till 2025.

And it's as good as a given that – provided the leftists don't take over the Reichstag in 2021 – conscription is set to return. Rumor has it that our new minister of defence wants a Bundeswehr of approx. 205000 professional soldiers and some 40000 conscripts. Even the left could be persuaded to approve, though - as conscription would also bring back the social alternative service in a time when the social services desparately seek manpower.

My local mp told me that the resurgence of the draft hinges on one question: Whether or not we're headed towards a recession. If we are, then growing unemployment will make it easier to fill those open posts. If we're not, they will bring back conscription to fill them under duress.

 

[Fish&Chips]

The return of at least a partial conscription to fill the gap is long overdue imho. So this is interesting news since AKK actually seems to have a plan. Let's see how this works out.

 

[muck]

So this is interesting news since AKK actually seems to have a plan

She might have one, but it's no secret that her party has always hated itself for suspending conscription in 2011. Many of its bigwigs have talked bringing back conscription ever since.

Let's see how this works out.

?

 

[muck]

Résumé of deployments to Mali and Afghanistan: German NH-90's reached an operational readiness of more than 95%; the NH-90 is now certified to be airlifted in the C-17 ()

 

[Mokordo]

Video shows Spanish Air Force CASA C-101 Aviojet crashing into Mediterranean Sea near Murcia, Spain

On 26 August at 09:38 (UTC +2), a Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire) CASA C-101 Aviojet belonging to the Patrulla Águila, Spain's Red Arrows, crashed

www.aviation24.be

 

[muck]

RIP!

 

[muck]

German ministry of defence announces recruitment turnaround; reports applications 10% up, hired 8.600 new career soldiers since historic all-time low of 2016 ()

 

[BravoZulu]

UK:

Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth got underway from her Portsmouth homeport on Friday to start the final round of flight trials with the fifth-generation F-35B stealth fighter jets.

As was the case with the previous two rounds of tests with the Lockheed Martin-built short-take and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft, the first of two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers will sail for the US East Coast for the trials.

The major difference with the third developmental test for first of class flight trials will be the fact that the aircraft carrier is set to launch UK-owned F-35B jets this time.

The UK intends to buy a total 138 F-35B jets for its air force and navy.

The aircraft carrier was followed by the new Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Tideforce as it departed Portsmouth. The carrier will also be joined by frigate HMS Northumberland during her time off the US coast.
https://navaltoday.com/2019/08/30/h...l-phase-of-trials-with-uk-f-35b-fighter-jets/

 

[BravoZulu]

Denmark:
40 ships from 18 nations are set to gather in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 3 ahead of the start of the 13th edition of exercise Northern Coasts (NOCO) 19.
Participating nations include Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA.
German Navy admiral Stephan Haisch will lead the units involved in the exercise as Commander Task Force 356 from the operations centre of the German Navy in Glücksburg.
Germany will be represented by combat support ship Bonn, frigate Lübeck, corvette Oldenburg, submarine U31, tender Danube, minehunters Weilheim and Dillingen, dive support ship Rottweil and maritime reconnaissance aircraft P-3C Orion.
Northern Coasts is a recurring exercise which has been taking place in the Baltic Sea since 2007. It is hosted by a different Baltic state each year. Sweden and Finland hosted the exercise in 2017 and 2018.

https://navaltoday.com/2019/08/30/40-ship-maneuver-northern-coasts-starting-in-denmark/

 

[muck]

^ How on earth can there be only 5 helicopters in an exercise that includes 47 vessels?

On the news front: After a hiatus of twenty years, Germany conducts flights under the Open Skies-Treaty again in a custom-built A319 ()

 

[BravoZulu]