Battleships and the Baltic: Does maritime strategy need big guns?
In October 1985, the mighty American battleship USS Iowa (BB 61) arrived in Kiel for its inauguaral Baltic Sea visit. Accompanied by the brand new guided missile cruiser USS Ticonderoga (CG 47) sporting the state of the art Aegis system, the recommissioned World War II behemoth sent a powerful message to NATO allies and the Warsaw Pact at the height of the second Cold War: The Baltic Sea and the Northern flank would be defended and the Soviet Union would be unbalanced by an offensive, forward-leadning U.S.-led Maritime Strategy buttressed by a 600-ship navy.
Four decades later, the Baltic Sea is back as a theatre for maritime strategists and naval professionals. The U.S. president, Donald J. Trump, has even insinuated building new American battleships (though it is not entirely clear whether he meant Iowa-style big guns or other warships). Join host Dr. Sebastian Bruns (Fellow, Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre) to hear from Larry Seaquist, former Commanding Officer of USS Iowa, and a retired academic and policy-maker, as we discuss taking the mighty battleship to Europe's Northern flank in the 1980s. Johannes Peters, Department Head Maritime Strategy & Security at the Institute for Security Policy Kiel University (ISPK) will provide comments on today's maritime security situation in the Baltic - and whether we need to bring back battleships. Time for Q&A will be provided.
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Please register here. By registering, you agree to the discussion being on the record. The event will later be uploaded on YouTube.
