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What kind of weapons will be deployed in Germany?

2024-07-19 08:59:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

What kind of weapons will be deployed in Germany?

New models of Tomahawk

For the first time since the Cold War, US long-range weapons systems will once again be deployed in Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the decision had been prepared for a long time, but the short joint announcement by the two governments surprised many people and politicians in Germany.

There was no parliamentary or public discussion of the issue, whereas 40 years ago there were mass protests against the deployment of Pershing missiles: in October 1983, around one million Germans formed a human chain in protest - but to no avail. The chancellor at the time, Helmut Schmidt, a Social Democrat, as well as Olaf Scholz, criticized him for this in the Bundestag.

Regarding this new missile station there is very little reliable information, the German media write that it is not known where the weapons will be placed, but some information can be found on the Internet, in available American documents, in professional newspapers and others.

So, for example, the British tabloid "The Sun" that on 21.11.2021 published a graphic showing how the American Dark Eagle supersonic missile - launched from Wiesbaden - reaches Moscow in just 21 minutes and 30 seconds. These two cities are 2000 kilometers apart. In this article it was said that the rocket will be ready for operation in 2023.

Earlier, the American portal Breaknig Defense (November 4, 2021) reported that the US Army officially reactivated the 56th Artillery Command in Europe, which was active from 1986 to 1991, and gave the green light for the deployment of modern precision weapons, including long-range (LRPF) ones.

What project is it about?

A statement from the White House and the German government on Wednesday (July 10, 2024) said that "The United States will temporarily deploy long-range weapons systems from its Multi-Domain Task Force to Germany as part of a plan to their permanent stationing."

According to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), the US Army is currently in the process of establishing and equipping five so-called Multi-Domain Task Forces (MDTF) around the world. One of their main tasks is to provide long-range artillery fire - through long-range missiles. In addition, the MDTF also has air defense capabilities.

Three MDTFs are for the Pacific region and one for Europe - to be based in Wiesbaden, Germany.

The US military announced this on April 13, 2021. Five months later, on September 16, 2021, the MDTF was activated at the US base in Wiesbaden (L. Clay Barracks). The intention was that only the headquarters and certain units would be located there, while the essential operational elements (weapons) would be located at Fort Drum in New York State.

But from all accounts, this base will be moved to Germany. The base should be operational by October 2025 with the exception of hypersonic weapons which should be ready by 1.10. 2026, writes the document of the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).

What kind of weapons will be deployed? The US and German governments stated in the aforementioned statement that "conventional units, when fully deployed, will include SM-6s, Tomahawks and hypersonic weapons currently under development."

Tomahawk

The Tomahawk is a large cruise missile that has been in use for decades and is constantly being further developed. It is the standard US and UK weapon in any military conflict against ground targets and is increasingly taking over the duties of remote-controlled bombers.

The Tomahawk was the first cruise missile to fly at low altitudes and thus was largely invisible to radar. It was developed in the 1970s and used in a large number of conflicts - for the first time in 1991, when 297 Tomahawks were dropped on Iraq. Over 800 of them were launched in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, they were also used in Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Syria and currently against the Houthi position in Yemen.

In September 1995, 13 Tomahawks fired at positions of Serbian forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, near Banja Luka. While in 1999, 218 Tomahawks were dropped on targets in Serbia by American warships and another 20 by a British submarine.

The Tomahawk, meanwhile, is manufactured by American Raytheon (RTX), costs between $600,000 and about $1.5 million a piece, and has a range of up to 2,500 kilometers. It can stay in the air for hours and constantly change course, that is, it can also change the target by remote control.

SM-6 The Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) cruise missile is, so to speak, a three-in-one missile system. It is the only missile that combines air defense, ground defense and naval missile defense.

It can intercept anti-ship missiles at very high altitudes or ballistic missiles in their final stage - just seconds before they reach the target. This system has a dual target seeker capable of detecting an enemy missile on the ground - even behind a mountain. In cooperation with reconnaissance aircraft, it can also be used "over the horizon", i.e. outside the radar horizon.

It can be launched from a ship, from land, Boeing Type 18 E and F aircraft and the Typhon platform developed by Lockheed Martin. It has a range of up to 500 km.

The SM-6 has been manufactured by Raytheon ( RTX ) since 2013. A missile costs $4.3 million, according to 2022 data. In addition to the US and British navies, Australia, Japan and South Korea also have it.

Dark Eagle

The most modern weapon in the Multipurpose Task Force's arsenal will be the Dark Eagle hypersonic missile, which is being developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. This missile will be able to be launched from a truck, like the Patriot system, for example. It was supposed to be completed in 2023, but there have been some problems. It is estimated that each of them will cost about 40 million dollars.

The United States made the decision to develop a hypersonic missile 20 years ago, when the American president was Republican George W. Bush.

Apparently, Dark Eagle is also planned to be located in Germany, in Wiesbaden, in about two years. This missile should have a range of up to about 2700 kilometers./ DW