On an annual basis, the German Task Group 501.01 participates in an exercise conducted by the German Navy in order to improve the training standard of its units and embarked cadets from the Naval Academy in Mürwik. Another important aim is to represent the German Navy to the countries visited during this training cruise. During the 2010 cruise, the Commander of the German Task Group, Commander s.g. Marco con Kölln, will lead this task group over a period of nearly five months, visiting Europe, Africa and the Middle East with 15 port visits in 11 countries covering Germany, Turkey, Spain, Namibia, South Africa, Ghana, Portugal, Italy, Crete, Israel, Egypt, Ukraine. Beyond participation in bi-national exercise GOOD HOPE IV with the South African Navy, the task group is operating in NATO Operation ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR in an effort to strengthen international security and relationships.

The F123 Brandenburg class is a class of German frigates. They were ordered by the German Navy in June 1989 and commissioned between 1994 and 1996 to replace Hamburg class destroyers. These frigates are primarily tasked with anti-submarine warfare, but they also contribute to anti-air defence, the tactical command of group forces and surface operations. Their design includes stealth characteristics.
Currently the F123 class is being upgraded under the auspices of the Fähigkeitsanpassung FüWES (FAF) project. The primary component being upgraded under this program is the Combat Management System, for which a version of the Thales Nederland TACTICOS system will be used. It is also upgrade to EADS IFF MSSR 2000 I Secondary radar system