A look at the Defence news 22 - 28 September
Last week, Netherlands Chief of Defence (CHOD), General Onno Eichelsheim, took the Ukrainian defence attaché, Yurii Herashchenko, by surprise.
While Heraschenko thought he was attending the medal award ceremony for members of the Project Directorate Ukraine, General Eichelsheim suddenly turned to him to award him the Medal of Merit in silver. The CHOD praised the attaché as the 'indispensable military bridge' between Kyiv and The Hague.
RNLN fights with and against drones in an international context
The Royal Netherlands Navy recently conducted large-scale testing of unmanned systems for maritime operations. This took place in a multinational context of 32 countries. The testing was conducted off the coast of the Portuguese town of Sesimbra and close to the peninsula of Tróia, both just south of Lisbon. The Royal Netherlands Navy was represented by its amphibious transport ship HNLMS Johan de Witt. The Mine Countermeasures Module Group also made a contribution from the support ship MV Geosea.
General Maas addresses military mobility in Poland
The Commander of Joint Support Command, Lieutenant General Jan-Willem Maas, held talks with his counterpart Major General Mendrala in Poland last week. One of the most important topics was military mobility in the Netherlands-Germany-Poland corridor. An attack on NATO territory is becoming an increasingly realistic possibility. Should it become reality, the transit of allied troops through the Netherlands must be as fast and effective as possible, along the route to Poland for example. In order for a military operation to be successful, solid logistical support is no less than crucial.