Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

Baden-Württemberg Class Frigate FGS Nordrhein-Westfalen pictured in 2018.

Braunschweig Class Corvette FGS Oldenburg...July 2019.

Lead Ship,Frigate FGS Baden-Württemberg seen entering Plymouth prior to FOST,July 2019.

Brandenburg Class Frigate FGS Bayern pictured under refit at Wilhelmshaven, 2019.

Brandenburg Class Frigate FGS Bayern in the Baltic,October 6th 2019.

German Navy or Bundesmarine has today - like the rest of their armed forces - huge problems with their operation readiness.
The National Interest magazine provides a lot of information about its status (Is Germany's Navy Dead article).Being not supplied enough with money plus many other factors it is now in bad shape i.e none of their subs was as on summer 2018 operational; bit better with the surface ships and as bad status of the naval aviation or "what has been left of it".

Recommended to read.
As for the opponents of the US President D. Trump and his harsh treatment of some of the European NATO countries (Germany in particular) because of their lower than recommended minimum 2%NGP spendings on defence, just lately a German General (retired of course) have provided details about the German Army and the picture seems to be very gloomy.
I do not expect him a President Trump supporter but the General provides i.e. figures that couple of years ago the Germans spent some 1,85%GNP on defence and last years it dropped to 1.27%.

Regards

GD

Lead Ship,Frigate FGS Baden-Württemberg ..large for a Frigate,weighing in at 7,200 tons.

Brian James wrote: ↑Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:09 am Lead Ship,Frigate FGS Baden-Württemberg ..large for a Frigate,weighing in at 7,200 tons.

Forgive my ignorance lads , but what purpose do the two cables in conduit from the bottom of the two doors on both sides of the upper hull down to the square apertures.... finishing just above the black hull paintwork...... represent... or what purpose do they serve please ..

ivorthediver wrote: ↑Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:20 am

Brian James wrote: ↑Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:09 am Lead Ship,Frigate FGS Baden-Württemberg ..large for a Frigate,weighing in at 7,200 tons.

Forgive my ignorance lads , but what purpose do the two cables in conduit from the bottom of the two doors on both sides of the upper hull down to the square apertures.... finishing just above the black hull paintwork...... represent... or what purpose do they serve please ..

The line from the bow area going towards the stern reminds me of that rigged for the Sea Boat or Life Boat in now 'olden times' Ivor.

Following from Tim

[Perhaps a new thread for whatever the MKS 180 frigates are to be known as will be in order in the future?]

Germany’s $6.7 billion frigate deal with Dutch shipbuilder Damen may be the last of its kind:

COLOGNE, Germany — Following the pick of Dutch shipbuilder Damen this week to build at least four new frigates for the German Navy, officials in Germany are finalizing a new policy meant to steer similar contracts to local shipyards in the future.

As drafted, the multi-ministry policy would establish the construction of surface ships as a key technology area in Germany’s security-industry fabric. The designation means Berlin may seek an exception from certain European Union acquisition regulations. Chief among those is a requirement to compete national programs across the bloc, which was the case with the large-frigate-style MKS 180 ships.

German Naval Yards, which teamed with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, also had been vying for the deal, portraying their offer as the most German of the proposals, with the promise of jobs and technology kept in the country. Damen, in turn, said this week it would build the ships at the plants of its bid partner Lürssen Group, most notably Blohm+Voss in Hamburg.

New rules on Germany's key strategic industries have been in the works since the governing parties CDU and SPD agreed on a coalition agreement in 2018. That pact said surface shipbuilding would get the designation as a key technology area, but it didn't say when or how.

Continues at - https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... -its-kind/