Germany's vaunted submarine fleet

NATO Crisis: Germany's Entire Submarine Fleet Is Paralyzed

Zero Hedge,

18 December, 2017

Throughout 2017, America’s control of NATO policymaking has become more evident than ever, with the sole objective of war-making against Russia. NATO and Russia continue to build up arms, equipment, and troops along the eastern region of Europe, but there is a new development that has NATO worried.

Germany’s operational readiness of its entire submarine fleet is dead in the water.

Yes, you heard that correctly, Germany’s prized submarines are currently on maintenance calls or in desperate need of repairs.

On October 15, Germany lost the last of its submarines when the Type 212a vessel was performing a diving maneuver off the Norweigan coast when it suffered a catastrophic blow to one of its four fins after the submarine struck a boulder. The submarine was quickly rendered not operational and had to be towed back to the German port of Kiel for maintenance work.

In the latest operational summary provided by RT, there are six submarines in the German fleet and all are out of service. Two Type 212a vessels are undergoing scheduled maintenance, and will be redeployed in the second half of 2018, while another two are in a critical state for repairs, with no estimated time of completion. The fifth submarine, as we mentioned above, crashed in October. 

The sixth submarine was commissioned in October and is currently undergoing rigorous sea trials before it will become operational in May 2018.

Germany’s submarine fleet will be paralyzed for the next 4-5 months, which presents an enormous national security risk for the country. The submarines’ most fundamental feature is stealth, coupled with defense capabilities and surveillance, but as mentioned above, there is currently a major gap in Germany’s military defense at the moment, which we hope is not exploited by an adversary.

The German parliament’s Defense Commissioner Hans-Peter Bartels told ARD, “this a real disaster for the navy and it’s the first time in history that none [of the U-boats] would be operational for months.” Bartels blamed the lack of spare parts for the broken submarines with the lack of government funding. Ever since the Cold War, German authorities have decided against stockpiling spare parts due to its high costs.

But there is hope, according to the Bartels, the trend of underfunding the military “has been reversed” and the government is ready to spend money on the military. All it took was a broken submarine fleet and the Americans priming the world for war with Russia. He added, “it will take years” before the changes are noticeable, but that doesn’t guarantee the military will be able to operate all submarines at the same time. Stated by the ARD, the navy has three submarine crews, with new crews in training.

While the Americans pressure NATO for war with Russia, it seems as the German government has been more focused on providing safe spaces for refugees, rather than properly funding its military.