I sometimes pause when I think about how Malta has built its naval fleet over the past twenty years. It starts with a clear need, a bold announcement even, and then… a long wait.

When the P61 joined the fleet, the AFM Commander at the time, Brigadier Carmel Vassallo, pointed out right away to Jane’s Defence Weekly that a sister ship would help share the workload. And yet no second vessel of that class ever arrived. Instead, there was a patchwork of stopgaps and short-term fixes.

One of those fixes was a donated ship that many insiders saw as past its prime. It filled a hole for a moment but did little to show a long-term plan or a budget set aside for fleet renewal.

The real game-changer came only with the P71, and only because more than half of its price tag came from EU support. That kind of outside help was welcome, but it makes you wonder what Malta’s own budget might have covered if the funds had been there.

It almost feels as if decisions come only when a crisis appears. We spot a gap, we scramble for a quick solution, and then we wait for the next alarm bell. Do we want to keep reacting like that, or start thinking a few steps ahead?

Meanwhile, the armed forces have filled roles far from classic defense. From search-and-rescue to fisheries patrols, they juggle civilian tasks and military ones. That shift sounds practical, but it also pulls attention away from core defense missions.

When P71 finally set sail, it was two years late and millions of euros over the original estimate. That kind of drift in time and money can shake the public’s trust. It raises questions about how projects are managed from the very first sketch on paper.

I think part of the answer lies in leadership that sees the big picture. Without a shared roadmap, every new purchase feels like a solo act. A fleet doesn’t grow through isolated choices but through a sequence of decisions that build on each other.

Malta stands at a crossroads. Will we keep patching holes with donated or off-the-shelf solutions? Or will we invest in a fleet that reflects our security needs and our ambitions for the Mediterranean?

Perhaps it’s time to set aside gestures that fill gaps for a season and focus on a plan that lasts. A clear vision and steady funding could change the way Malta sees itself at sea.

I’ll leave it at that, with the hope that a fresh conversation on defense might spark a shift in how we guard our waters—and how we budget for what really matters.

#MaltaDefense #NavalPlanning #MaritimeBudget #StrategicGovernance #EUFunding