On Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 2 p.m., the frigate “Sachsen,” under the command of Commander Wolfgang Eckmüller, will leave its home port of Wilhelmshaven. It will become part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG 1).
Following training cruises last year, the crew, under the command of Commander Eckmüller, will now deploy to the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the North Atlantic for operations within SNMG 1. “I am proud to be the commanding officer of the frigate ‘Sachsen’ and to proudly represent the name of our sponsoring country and carry it out into the world,” said the commanding officer. “The core mission of the ‘Sachsen’ within SNMG 1 will be the control and protection of strategic sea lanes and the protection of critical infrastructure in the North Atlantic, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea,” he continued.
The German frigate will assume various tasks within the NATO task force. Its sister ship, the “Hamburg,” recently demonstrated the importance of the F124-class frigates to the force.
In addition to the regular crew, soldiers from Naval Air Wing 5 in Nordholz and the dental unit will also be on board. The ship is expected back in Wilhelmshaven in mid-July 2026.