German auxiliary Alster

Alster in Kiel, August 2009.
History
Germany
Name	Alster
Namesake	River Alster
Builder	Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg
Laid down	1987
Launched	4 November 1988
Commissioned	1988
Homeport	Eckernförde, Schleswig-Holstein
Identification	MMSI number: 211211450 Callsign: DRHF
Status	In active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Oste-class fleet service ship
Displacement	3,200 tonnes
Length	83.5 m (274 ft)
Beam	14.6 m (48 ft)
Draft	4.2 m (14 ft)
Propulsion	2 diesel engines, 3,300 kW (4,400 hp) each
Speed	21 knots (39 km/h)
Range	More than 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km)
Complement	36 + up to 40 mission specialists
Sensors and processing systems	ELINT/COMINT sensors
Electronic warfare & decoys	Electronic countermeasures
Armament	None

Alster (A 50) is an intelligence ship of the German Navy. She is the lead ship of the German Navy's Type 423. The vessel is named for the river Alster located in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

Alster is a reconnaissance ship, which was originally intended to gather data on Soviet ships. She has a wide array of modern electromagnetic, hydroacoustic, and electro-optic sensors for strategic intelligence gathering. Her sensitive antennas can identify radar locations, monitor flights, and can also listen in on radio and phone conversations. She can be used as an advance warning unit. Her crew is a mixture of German Navy sailors and German Bundesnachrichtendienst (Federal Intelligence Agency) officers.

On 26 October 2006, Israeli planes flew over Alster while she was serving with the UNIFIL peacekeeping forces off the coast of Lebanon,^[1] stirring an international incident.^[2][3][4] German authorities declared that the planes had fired shots at the ship and evaded from the scene launching flares. The Israeli side, though denying that firing had occurred, acknowledged the incident and declared that no aggression was meant. Diplomatic activity resulted in a settlement, though none of the parties backed from its position.