The German Navy has been planning for some time to procure 18 unmanned surface vessels, known as Future Combat Surface Systems (FCSS), to supplement its corvettes, as well as at least 12 Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (LUUV) to support its submarines. A new class of unmanned vehicles has recently been added: Large Remote Missile Vessels (LRMV). By Lars Hoffmann / HartpunktAccording to information obtained by Hartpunkt from naval circles, the plans are essentially for arsenal ships carrying missiles in vertical launchers. According to naval circles, the German arsenal ships are primarily designed for air defence, including ballistic missile defence (BMD). The Large Remote Missile Vessels are also to be armed for self-defence, but only to a very limited extent.