The Ship Model Forum

[url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/german-engineering-yields-new-warship-that-isnt-fit-for-sea-1515753000?mod=e2fb]Wall Street Journal[/url]

[quote][size=200][b]German Engineering Yields New Warship That Isn’t Fit for Sea
Navy refuses to commission frigate after it failed sea trials; critics cite fiasco in conception and execution[/b][/size]

By William Wilkes
Jan. 12, 2018 5:30 a.m. ET

BERLIN—Germany’s naval brass in 2005 dreamed up a warship that could ferry marines into combat anywhere in the world, go up against enemy ships and stay away from home ports for two years with a crew half the size of its predecessor’s.

First delivered for sea trials in 2016 after a series of delays, the 7,000-ton Baden-Württemberg frigate was determined last month to have an unexpected design flaw: It doesn’t really work.

Defense experts cite the warship’s buggy software and ill-considered arsenal—as well as what was until recently its noticeable list to starboard—as symptoms of deeper, more intractable problems: Shrinking military expertise and growing confusion among German leaders about what the country’s armed forces are for.

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In addition to the technical problems of the first ship, the design of the frigate itself is questionable. The F125 was designed as a large patrol ship for extended operations with its own repair facilities - but it has a very weak anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence. There is too much focus on a single mission. When the first ship is already now too heavy, updates are difficult.

[url=https://navaltoday.com/2017/12/22/germany-returns-lead-f125-frigate-to-builder-report/]Naval Today[/url]

[quote][size=200][b]Germany returns lead F125 frigate to builder, report[/b][/size]

The German defense procurement agency BAAINBw has reportedly returned [b]FGS Baden-Württemberg[/b], the lead ship of German Navy’s new class of F125 frigates, to the Blohm+Voss shipyard.

According to a report in the German Kieler Nachrichten, BAAINBw has requested Blohm+Voss – which is part of the ARGE F125 consortium responsible for delivering the four frigates – [b]to repair all defects identified on the ship during trials.
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