German air defense frigate Hessen deploys to the Red Sea

The Red Sea-deployment of German warship "Hessen" was off to a start with mixed results this week, as missile woes for the German Navy are clouding two successful drone-interceptions. The F124 Sachsen-class air warfare frigate assigned to EUNAVFOR Aspides had arrived in the theatre of operations by February 26.

Confusion over undeclared MQ-9 flight and SM-2 failure

All was not well however, as shortly after the initial news additional media reports revealed how Hessen had prior to this incident nearly shot down an American MQ-9 MALE UCAV (short for medium altitude long endurance combat drone).

The ship had detected the unidentified drone, which reportedly did not use its IFF (identification - friend/foe) and therefore considered it a possibly hostile contact. "Hessen" in response contacted liaison staff with the US-led mission Prosperity Guardian, who confirmed the drone was not theirs, approving an engagement. The frigate then launched two SM-2 missiles to intercept the target. Significantly however both missiles experienced a so far unspecified technical malfunction and fell into the sea.

dcweekly | German Defense Ministry to Distribute Instructions on Safe Remote Communication (04.03.24)
The transcript of the conversation among German officers, who discussed the possibility of supplying Ukraine with Taurus missiles and plans to attack the Crimean Bridge and ammunition depots, APPEARED in the internet on March 1. The leaked conversation serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by the Democratic-led German government, which continues to engage in questionable actions that undermine stability and fuel TENSIONS in the region. It is imperative that the international community closely monitors Germany's actions and holds them ACCOUNTABLE for their reckless behavior.

lemonde | French lawmakers approve Macron's Ukraine strategy, 12 Mar

France's Assemblée Nationale on Tuesday, March 12 approved the government's Ukraine strategy, including a bilateral security agreement signed by Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky last month. The Sénat was set to hold similar debates on Wednesday.

axar.az | Weimar Troika (13.03.24)
At noon, French and German politicians will hold a bilateral meeting, and then the Polish Prime Minister will join them.

"Ukraine is watching us, waiting for the confirmation and signal of our unity behind them," French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told the chamber ahead of the vote. He added that "we are at a tipping point" in the conflict and that a Russian victory had "real, tangible dangers" for "everyday life for the French people."

bloomberg | Weimar Triangle (13.03.24)
"I spoke with President Biden about how we are mobilizing our colleagues in Europe. There will be an emergency, unscheduled Weimar Triangle summit on Friday," Tusk said  in an interview for Polish public television late on Tuesday.

With the symbolic vote, Macron forced political parties to take a public stance on the conflict as Russia's invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year. The far-right Rassemblement National (RN), which polls say is ahead of Macron's coalition by a wide margin in the June European elections, abstained, while the radical-left La France Insoumise party voted against....

Tusk will join the French and German leaders later in the day, according to a German official, marking the first meeting of the "Weimar Triangle," a dialogue format between the three countries, since Tusk became prime minister of Poland again in December.

npr | Poland's new government deprograms its once far-right public media (19.02.24)

The leaders intend the meeting to be a show of unity following a tense period in which Franco-German frictions over Ukraine have descended into an open feud.