Its mission causes intense political controversy frigate “Esse” in Red Sea, after yesterday's incident with the near downing of an American drone flying in the area. The Christian Democratic Party (CDU) accuses the government of “covering up” the event, while the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces, emphasizes that the crew of the German frigate acted “according to procedures”. In addition, questions are mounting as to whether the Hessie has sufficient ammunition to fulfill its role in the European Shield mission.
According to a report by BILD, the armed forces, as they should, sent an urgent and detailed report to the presidium of the Defense Committee of the Federal Parliament, informing about the two drones of Houthi that had been shot down by the frigate “Hesse” in the Red Sea, but not for the unfortunate incident with the near-shooting of the US drone. According to Der Spiegel magazine, the German frigate fired twice at the drone, but missed, only to later find out that it was an American vehicle. “Celebratory reports circulate immediately, but unpleasant news is swept under the carpet. This shows how (Defence Minister) Boris Pistorius perceives the term 'parliamentary army' – as a stroke for his ego and not as responsible information for Parliament,” Christian Union (CDU/CSU) defense minister Florian Hahn said. , while the CDU's defense expert Ingo Gedehens said he was “outraged” and said that the behavior of the defense minister was causing the indignation of the MPs. “The MPs gave their approval for the frigate's participation in the operations and therefore they must then be fully informed about everything,” he added.
However, according to the inspector of the German Navy Jan Christian Kaack, the crew of the frigate “Hesse” acted “exactly as procedures dictate” as the American drone, in the absence of other information, was designated “hostile” and the shots were fired in consultation with the administration. “I would have acted in exactly the same way,” Mr Kaak told the German news agency dpa and congratulated the crew members.
Mr. Hahn further stated today that Hesse will soon face an ammunition problem because “for some of the ammunition there is no corresponding industrial production capability.” When the stocks run out, continued the Christian Union's defense official, “the Navy will not be able to replenish them and so the frigate will have to be retired.” The Bundestag approved the mission without apparently knowing there was a problem with the ammunition, he noted, while Mr Gedehens added that “any unnecessary firing is a problem and has a direct impact on the operational capability of our frigate” and accused the government of concealing the relevant facts, which are now revealed by the media. “We will replenish the ammunition as soon as possible,” assured the Navy inspector, rejecting the accusations.
However, in an interview with North German radio and television NDR, the commander of the largest naval combat unit Admiral Axel Schulz warns of the possibility that “at some point we will run out of high-quality ammunition” and points out that, in this case, “the mission for us will have end anyway, as we can't send ships anywhere without ammunition.' However, he assured that even in this case the crew members are not in danger, but he also admitted that “a message of weakness is being sent”. As the most important problem, the German admiral highlighted the lack of personnel, a fact which, as he said, forces the existing crews e.g. to stay at sea for up to 230 days, “which makes this job even less attractive”.
Source: News Beast
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