The Most Insanely Armored German Sea Threat Since WW2

In the shimmering late-morning heat, a German F126 frigate prowls the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia on the hunt for pirates as part of the European Union’s Operation Atalanta. The vigilant crew of the biggest surface warship to join the German Navy since World War 2 carefully scans the horizon for any signs of trouble, all too aware that this turbulent stretch of sea is crawling with modern-day buccaneers.
As the sun climbs higher, the ship’s lookout suddenly spots a suspicious skiff darting between merchant vessels, her occupants masked, armed, and clearly up to no good. This dangerous gang of seaborne delinquents must be stopped before an innocent ship falls victim to a violent hijacking.
Fortunately, the F126 is on the case. The roar of the 545-foot long frigate’s engines is soon joined by the whirring blades of a pair of NH90 Naval Frigate Helicopters, slicing through the salty air as they lift off from the deck, where an expert team hurriedly prepares the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats, gearing up for a boarding operation.
Using her state-of-the-art Hensoldt TRS-4D NR multi-function surveillance radar, the F126 tracks the pirates’ every move, the helicopters hovering above like dragonflies while the inflatable boats race toward their target. Panic fills their eyes as they realize they have been detected, and the skiff’s crew attempts a desperate getaway, but the EU forces are rapidly closing in. As the chase intensifies, the two sides prepare for a fierce confrontation on the high seas.

[@user-bv6vu8it3z]

Germany: releses island sized ship with planes helicopters tank factorys ICBMs and hundrets of canons German navy officer: hmmm thats a nice little destroyer

[@SargeRho]

*frigate Next up: Supercarriers, but we'll call it a Flight Deck Frigate.

[@imthecreeper5567]

@@SargeRho f 35b`s also called air frigate

[@StEvEn-dp1ri]

She's a sleek good-looking boat.

[@DasIllu]

Funny they named the ship Saarland while it wouldn't fit inside the Saarland. I live there, i should know 😀

[@Badger13x]

Where's your Buccaneers ...... underneath me bucking hat !

[@StephenGresser]

🌎 Excellent 3rd Rock reference, Badger13x!

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

The Arleigh Burke Class flight III are almost 10,000tons. The Burkes also have over twice the shaft horsepower so are considerably faster. Finally the Burkes are far more heavily armed with 90 or 96 VLS modules vs 16 on F126.

[@DaveSCameron]

Nein

[@enterring9874]

Uahhh we simply make the best FRIGATES so stop talking about a destroyer

[@matthewhuszarik4173]

@@enterring9874 You know there is no concrete criteria what makes a ship a cruiser, destroyer, frigate, destroyer escort, corvette and what size ship is in each criteria has changed drastically over time. Each nation choses what to call their war ships and there is considerable overlap. The US Ticonderoga class cruisers were originally classified as guided missile destroyers and they were built on the same hulls as the Spruance class guided missile destroyers. Then US Congress reclassified them as cruisers.

[@aggravated_assault]

Its an air defense destroyee so of course it will have more vls

[@Spendingryan]

​@@matthewhuszarik4173I think the only true cruisers and battle cruisers left are the Russian Slava and Kirov class cruisers, they are pretty big but very old and look unique, there aren't too many of them left, especially because of recent events.

[@johngutwald8454]

Being in an inflatable boat at sea during a gun fight doesn't sound like a good place to be. Am I missing something here.

[@littlejimmy7402]

speed and maneuverability are sometimes the best armor. WW2 PT boats were wooden, it helped them go fast and fight much larger armored craft.

[@johngutwald8454]

@@littlejimmy7402 Inflatable boats must be the right way to go historically they've preformed the best. But wouldn't it make you a little apprehensive if you were getting into a boat in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of other guys all carrying sharp & pointed objects and moving a point where you're supposed assault it this type of action must have only been attempted under the cover of darkness because that's the only cover there is available. Kind of a scary thought huh?

[@littlejimmy7402]

@@johngutwald8454 I fully get what you are saying. But, I have been in the U.S. Army and I will say that a group of well trained and motivated Soldiers (any military) can be surprisingly capable. And there's no telling how much fun those guys are having either.

[@herbertrichardson3289]

You missed something Maybe I'm wrong let me know LifeProof boats are filled with a foam

[@r00kie36]

@@johngutwald8454 RIBs are compartmentalised, and usually made from relatively tough fabric. So pointing wont do you much good, and to shoot you'd have to hit a lot of different areas to make all the compartments deflate. Still, it wouldnt sink because it has many foam pockets and due to its small weight those are enough to keep the deflated boat and any crew afloat until rescue arrives

[@jonny2954]

Since these boats are a little underarmed for their size German engineers decided to go fully insane with the next one, F127. 12,000 tons, 220 m length, 250 crew. 40 meters longer than a type 055 Chinese cruiser and more VLS cells than the South Korean Sejong the Great-class, making it the heaviest armed surface combatant after the Soviet Kirov class battlecruiser. It doesen't just meet destroyer criteria, but cruiser. And no, they're going to call it a _Frigate_ too. And they want five of them.

[@donfully]

that's just the sales pitch from the manufacturer. The military will analyse and draw up its own requirement which likely gonna be another big coast guard ship disguised as a warship again

[@leonschroeder4771]

Isn't the German navy banned from having destroyers since WW2? That would explain why all German ships are classified as frigates no matter what size

[@HingerlAlois]

@@donfully F127 is supposed to replace the Sachsen class air defense frigates, thus they are certainly going to be at least significantly better armed than the F125 and F126 classes…

[@MakeSomeNoiseAgencyPlaylists]

Actually that F-127 project is canceled by Germany...

[@jonny2954]

@@MakeSomeNoiseAgencyPlaylists No it isn't.

[@marcusharrigan6879]

3 weeks at sea. I'm underwhelmed.

[@dapple33]

With the changing paradigm of modern warfare, a more cost effective anti-drone system will be needed.

[@trespire]

My thought too. Not only for naval forces but for land based a well.

[@christophseidl1532]

Couldn't they install a Mantis System or just park a Gepard on the heli pad?

[@Rick_Zune]

Kinda looks like the big brother to Swedens Visby corvette

[@konradheumann8342]

The dude narrating should learn how to pronounce the German word "Marine" [/mah-REE-nuh]. It's really not difficult, and avoids the inadvertent suggestion that Germany has Marines (it doesn't).

[@wanderschlosser1857]

Brandenburg has a singular propulsion system? 2 shafts with one Diesel and one GT each is singular? The 2 GT's got 38 MW together, that's more than the new F126 at less than half the tonnage and easily reaching 30+ knots. The F126 might not require such high speed due to its different mission portfolio but dude get your research data right!

[@ThomasNux]

Love your content... but this one felt a bit like a sales presentation when it started. All in all, I enjoyed it...

[@killerbern666]

all his videos are like that, its probably a military propaganda channel imo

[@DaveSCameron]

It’s a phoney channel 😂😂😂😂

[@Gunnl]

most publicly available information from these systems are from sales presentations ...

[@Martinit0]

So, did you end up buying one?

[@ThomasNux]

@@Martinit0 I didn't say it was a good sales presentation, did I?

[@Hulkehnor]

"The most Insanely Armored German Sea Threat Since WW2" Armored? Did you mean Armed?

[@user-kd2ij7te5v]

This is a workplace at sea, not a ammo depot. It has range and is highly adaptable. Deutsche Marine is thinking of advanced mission modules. The mission modules can change the capabilities quietly significantly.

[@Hulkehnor]

@@user-kd2ij7te5v I'm not sure what you are saying. I was refering to the title of the video where he says "Armored", which means physical protection against penetration i.e. Steel plating. I think he meant to say "Armed" which is the amount of weapons it carries. I dont think any modern warship actually has armor plating anymore.

[@mammutMK2]

​@@Hulkehnor well...compared to most ships, you can consider the hull as armored. With such a high ice class she needs some massive steel plating to not get cut open or crashed by the ice. If there is a missile impact, the damage will be lower. Possible that she has the inner hull covered with Splinter protection.

[@Hulkehnor]

@@mammutMK2 The F126 has lowest level of ice protection classification of 1C. I'd be surprised if all European warships didnt meet this level anyway without being designed for it. Armor plating on warships was usually like a covered bathtub within the ship protecting the important systems like engines and ammunition magazines and on an equivalent sized ship in WW2 like a light cruiser would have been 80-130mm thick. The hardiest Icebreakers only have about 50mm thick plating at the bow. During the Falklands war the RN made a point of taking out the Argentinian WW2 built cruiser the General Belgrano with a submarine because they knew the veterans strong Armor was going to give their modern missiles trouble. Current warships play a game of long range sniping rather than the slugfest it used to be so dont have the same level of static protection.

[@mammutMK2]

@@Hulkehnor I didn't looked the ice rating up...in that case i would think all northern European war ships have that rating, since ice in the Baltic and north sea in pretty common. If they would have given it the highest rating, even though 50mm is way less that actually WW2 armor, but compared to thin hull plating they use today you could call it armored. But why they are not armored? Because it's not much use...you get hit from a missile that was fired hundred miles away, so the focus is on not getting hit instead of taking the hit...the Iowa class was reactivated because they needed them for shore bombardment and she could get close to the shore, because land fired artillery would be no harm. Compared to a modern ship, getting hit by a artillery shell will make some serious damage.

[@shawnsmith5498]

Just watched We Dive at Dawn 1943. Their mission was to sink the Brandenburg

[@Carl_ATHF]

gross, zionist propaganda movies

[@dellodas]

Loud music sound in some parts with a fast and unclear narrator voice !

[@Kriss_L]

11,000+ tons? That's bigger than the US Aegis cruisers.

[@icarus745]

I heard Saarland as Sauron 🤣🤣🤣

[@lordinquis8r679]

The ship is sweet.

[@mynameisschezuan]

Agree.

[@rael5469]

The Rolling Airframe Missile seems too small.......and not enough ammo in the launcher. How fast can they re arm the thing?

[@GnomBoom]

they are basically the last defence against missiles similar to the phalanx ciws

[@PagsPayback]

42 RIM-116 is not that bad. And Germans are using the latest Block 2b variant for the F126 which is more powerfull and has an impoved guidance system over the older block 1 missiles, which where already able to shoot down supersonic sea skimming anti-ship missiles at Mach 2.5(target speed). But the neat thing is, in contrast to VLS cells the deck launchers can be reloaded at sea.

[@rael5469]

@@PagsPayback Cool. Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear it.

[@T0ghar]

The E in Marine is not Silent. German is not French. Only a few German words with foreign origin end on silent E's.

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

I'm just going to say this, you should just let Black Water finish the pirate problem decades ago

[@molybdaen11]

And once again no mention of any armor.

[@embreis2257]

important notice for all viewers: the first F126 frigate is expected to be commissioned into service in 2027! atm, we are in 2024 and this ship certainly hasn't been deployed yet anywhere. 🤭

[@murder.simulator]

What function does the flat panelling serve, other than decoration?

[@_spooT]

depends on what flat panel you're talking about

[@murder.simulator]

All along the sides

[@Chiggi0815]

@@murder.simulator It is slightly angled to reduce the Radar Cross Section (RCS). The open decks with all the stuff hanging around on older ships, created a lot of 90° angles that bouncde the radar beam right back to the sender. This design makes it harder to detect the ship.

[@tmseh]

What's a pirate's favorite letter?

[@ricoolivier]

Rrrrrrr...😂

[@adrianhenle]

@@ricoolivier You may think it be Rrrr but his true love be the C

[@pezpengy9308]

@@adrianhenle 🤣

[@Gunnerman65]

Frigates are becoming the "New" Destroyers...

[@jonlaurenzreyes1902]

Destroyers are smaller than Frigates during WW2.

[@maeckiemesser6958]

destroyer sounds way to destroying for us germans. thats the one and only reason why we call them that. affter some stuff that happend in the last century the idea of a truly capable fighting force is somewhat alien to us.

[@MCK3274]

Only three weeks of supplies?

[@matthiashartge5520]

That's what they can have on board. But usually warships are accompanied by supply ships that can transfer fuel, food etc while at sea to the war ship :)

[@deth3021]

26 knots seems pretty slow for a destroyer.... Also ask the lcs how they feel about combining gears.

[@utubeo4r]

frigate not destroyer

[@shaun469]

Somehow i think the germans might be better at that

[@protato911]

also very under arm, consider the burks have 96 VLS cell, which is a smaller ships, the china type 52 can have 64 of bigger VLS, this ship only have 36. For its roll the size seem overkill and its didn't have the benefit of the usual larger ships (which is carry more weapon). Unless there are some international laws for arm limitation on naval ships that Germany need to follow, they could've arm the ship better or build more smaller but similar arm ships.

[@Chiggi0815]

@@protato911 Armament is based on roles not on size and it is well armed for its role. It is a combination of General Purpose Frigate and Anti Submarine Warfare Frigate. It manly has to defend itself against sea skimming submarine launched missiles. For that it has 64 ESSM (4per VLS cell) and 42 RAMs. That is way more than for example the italian or French ASW FREMMs. The 2 medium Helicopters +1 Drone are more than most frigates can carry. More VLS Cells would only make sense if germany would adopt more weapon systems for those cells like Tomahawk or VL-ASROC. Most of the Size goes into the automation and redundancy for the intensive use concept. It can stay at sea for up to two years instead of constantly cruising back and forth from and to germany. Multiple crews rotate every 4 month.

[@jonlaurenzreyes1902]

@@Chiggi0815 bruhh Israeli and Russian corvettes have more armament than this expensive and oversized Frigate.

[@pauldegregorio6432]

No Phalanx CWIS? Remember the F-4 Fantom? Sounds like a retrofit to me.

[@Chiggi0815]

It uses RAMs as primary CIWS and the new MLG 4.0 are supposed to be CIWS capable too. In addition it is rumored that the design already has the hardpoints for future DEWs (laser; currently tested on F124 Class) Also rumored is that SeaSpider anti-Torpedo.Torpedo is to be integrated when it goes into production. (has alredy been tested by the german navy)

[@surters]

@@Chiggi0815 RAMs are nice, but like in WWII, now with drones, we will see that we need loads more of AA of different types. I think the Poles made a nice mini gun for just this.

[@Chiggi0815]

@@surters That is what the 27mm MLGs are for, but the german navy is replacing those with 30mm Systems with airburst munitions on the F123 class soon. Probably as a testbed to transition the whole fleet from 27mm to 30mm ABMs later on.

[@_spooT]

Germany doesn't use the Phalanx. They have their own anti-air. And judging by how the main gun is designed, it prioritizes the smallest radar cross-section as possible. Right now it's armed with the RIM/RAM for anti-air. It looks like it can also be swapped with the Millennium

[@crocobaur5407]

most under-gunned ship ever

[@joshuadrumm1814]

So its classified as a frigate, despite being larger than a destroyer

[@Schokelmei]

German frigates were always bigger than the frigates of other Nato allies, because Germany (and Spain) don't have destroyers and there is no real measurement in those country what makes it a frigate vs a destroyer. So they just call them frigates.

[@jonlaurenzreyes1902]

@@Schokelmei it's also political

[@Carsten-yu6fe]

For it's size it's under armed

[@xSoulhunterDKx]

cause its essentially a fob on the sea and a support vessel

[@aggravated_assault]

It should either have torpedo or another vls set bit its said that thier is eoom for more weapons on the ship

[@anewbisify]

Could you please slow down your cadence just slightly 😅 please and thank you ❤

[@Petriefied0246]

12000 tonnes would make it a cruiser!

[@streetwind.]

Many modern navies are classifying their warships by purpose nowadays, not by tonnage... and sometimes even avoid certain appellations for political reasons. Germany commissions "frigates" because they are designed for defensive and patrolling duties and for asymmetrical warfare, which are traditionally in the frigate playbook. Germany does not commission "destroyers" because they're not planning to go destroy anyone, nor do they expect to need to deploy directly against other nation's warships. But yes, these things are massive by every other metric =P

[@HeavilyCensoredKitty]

Wanna really surprise the Pirates than build a reproduction ships from the heyday of Pirates and outfit it with modern weaponry to make them do a double take and say WTF...

[@surters]

Isn't a Dow just that? see Chinese pirats.

[@HeavilyCensoredKitty]

@@surters will research it but I mean like the old Gallions and those type of ships with Cannons.

[@pike100]

A reproduction of ships from the heyday of pirates? That is a ridiculous idea. I hope you were kidding.

[@RevenTon73]

what language is this ?^^

[@joncarolyn]

Sounds heavy, slow and lacking firepower

[@Freedom9X]

That's exactly what it is and also very expensive.

[@Aeonshield]

A date would be nice

[@michaeldenesyk3195]

Do you mean Armed or Armored?

[@Lykapodium]

Fyi: Thales is pronounced "Taliss"

[@fakshen1973]

The word "also" loses its meaning if every sentence starts with it. You have to write these scripts on a level above a 2nd grade book report.

[@MorningNapalm]

I love the use of the exaggerated, Jeremy Clarkson "in the world" voice :D

[@chigeryelam4061]

Well let's hope when they eventually get one in the water it floats straight unlike the F125 ;p

[@DaveSCameron]

Neil, Ze Hun are asist,

[@DaveSCameron]

21 days😂😂😂😂😂

[@HYNKZL]

Lost me at low crewed and automated. LCS anyone

[@terrystewart2070]

All that high tech is just amazing.....right up 'til you really need it to work, and it decides "nope not today".....you know...kinda like virtually all high tech stuff does.

[@kinngrimm]

Seeing how Ukrain manhandles the russian Navy, what will be any navy's defence against drone boats?

[@jonlaurenzreyes1902]

well it has main gun and secondary gun

[@danga55gan]

would be nice if you spent half as much effort and vigor - towards protecting the maritime rights of the sumalis

[@oceanmariner]

Click Bait again. The largest 'German' ship since WWII.

[@AH-ve9iz]

The other largest ship is up your mom's brown eye as I type this

[@petercrossley1069]

Stop saying “advancement”. The correct word is “advance”.

[@Zonker66]

The music drowned out the voice too much. I couldn't finish watching.

[@bobmalooga7249]

why does his voice now sound like AI? I thought this guy was real :/

[@persquad8998]

Just cause his voice is monotone, does not mean that its AI. It's really annoying how people with no actual knowledge about how AI would sound, just assume things like that, but I guess these are the times we live in now.

[@anthonysheppard9247]

​@@persquad8998he is now narrating every dark channel ,,he must be exhausted

[@happychappy492]

It is Ai

[@anthonysheppard9247]

@happychappy492 no its not

[@happychappy492]

@@anthonysheppard9247 yeah it is

[@dotEXCEI_]

She needs more weapons... She is bigger than a flight 2 burke but has less weapons...

[@glennllewellyn7369]

Ukraine rubbing hands...

[@zenon7094]

What warships did we Germans ceded to Ukraine so far?

[@grumpyoldnerd8727]

The biggest problem of the German forces is their political leadership. If that ship gets attacked at night, they are not allowed to retaliate until some committee in political Berlin has decided what to do. At working hours, German time, the next day, of course...

[@alfredchurchill2328]

This channel and its sister channels are so cringey cheap. They do not even show the ship in question much. They just keep showing what looks like a Japanese or Australian AEGIS destroyer

[@easygroove]

ROFL - those Helicopters were forbidden to be flrown over Sea / Salt Water for some time 🤣😂🤣, Yeah Helicopters which wrere bought for Marine use... Will be interesting how good NATO Ships can deal with Sea based Drones like the British use under Ukraine disguise against Russian Ships...

[@deliriumfranken]

I guess better than the Russian dilettants?

[@easygroove]

@@deliriumfranken 🤣

[@Chiggi0815]

Well in the Red Sea they are intercepting them with helicopters long before they become dangerous.

[@Heroesbleed]

They are not delinquents…..they are faithful Muslims.

[@dahlmer1234]

Oh please! They are criminals!

[@Heroesbleed]

@@dahlmer1234 I encourage to study the Quran and Hadith. They find their justification therein.

[@jmbaka007]

Let people know that and it is not Islamophobia

[@adrianhenle]

@@Heroesbleed I've never once seen an interview with a pirate where they claim they're a pirate because of Islam, just ones where they express that when choosing between piracy and starvation, one's moral compass doesn't see much use.

[@Heroesbleed]

@@adrianhenle Let me understand you….if, and only if, a Muslim pirate declares in an interview that you can witness, that Islam is their motivation for piracy will you accept the claim that Islam allows and encourages Muslims to steal from non-Muslims?

[@DaveSCameron]

Ich leibe der @AfD

[@harrycarpenter1727]

11,000 ton Frigate??

[@jonny2954]

Just 10,550. However their next one will be 12,000 tons, 40 meters longer than a type 055 Chinese cruiser and heavier armed than the Sejong the Great-class, making it the heaviest armed surface combatant after the Kirov class battlecruiser. They're going to call it a _Frigate_ too.

[@Chiggi0815]

The idea that frigates are somehow small ships is a recent development. The original sailing frigates went on independent patrol/sea control missions called "cruising" and so they were called cruisers. When the sails were replaced by steam engines and the gun decks by turrets, the term "frigate" was dropped and all that remained was "cruiser". It was the British who started to call their "destroyer escorts" (light budget destroyers for convoy escort) frigates during WW2. Other nations followed that example, but not all. The US for example called their "light cruisers" (Destroyer Leaders) frigates. All those were bigger than their destroyers and more capable than most soviet cruisers. Some were even nuclear-powered. They changed the classification system in 1975 to make it more comparable to the soviets. Today the roles of frigates, destroyers and cruisers have molded together a bit since they all use the same systems and weapons for their tasks. A basic difference could be made by saying that cruiser/frigates are focused on independent sea control, while destroyers are focused on escorting important targets. Size is mostly just a question of logistical capabilities and needs.

[@maeckiemesser6958]

destroyer sounds way to destroying for us germans. thats the one and only reason why we call them that. affter some stuff that happend in the last century the idea of a truly capable fighting force is somewhat alien to us.

[@Chiggi0815]

@@maeckiemesser6958 nonsense

[@maeckiemesser6958]

@@Chiggi0815 doch, that is exactly the reason why we germans dont posses destroyers but are building frigates, even when the missionprofile of the ships is in the destroyer/ cruiser profile, the armament is the of an destroyer and the tonnage is the of an heavy cruiser. oh boy i dont want to imagine the circus in the bundestag, the press and in everything that is left from the cdu and also in vast parts of them, if the bundesmarine would order Zerstörer (destroyers). there is no way they would get them. but a small frigate which is used for costal defense and maybe could protect a convoy. yeah that sounds harmless. and so we are building heavycruiserfrigates...

[@AH-ve9iz]

Cmon where is the new Bismarck ir Tirpitz

[@molybdaen11]

No new battleships planed for now. A lot of smaller ships with light helicopter or drones proved to be more efficient in a modern conflict where you have to be at many places at once.