Airbus is also aiming to create a Starlink made in Germany in collaboration with the German companies Rheinmetall and Ohb.
Airbus Defence and Space is considering a joint bid with the German defense giant Rheinmetall and the national satellite manufacturer Ohb for a multi-billion euro contract to create a secure, military-grade satellite communications network in low Earth orbit (LEO) for the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces.
This is the “SATCOMBw Stage 4” satellite constellation, explained in January by Handelsblatt. Unlike the Stage 3 system, SATCOMBw Stage 4 no longer relies on a few geostationary satellites in orbits about 36,000 kilometers high. Although geostationary satellites provide wide signal coverage, their high signal latency limits them. SATCOMBw Stage 4, on the other hand, will be based on a network of numerous satellites in low Earth orbit, a few hundred kilometers in altitude. At least one hundred satellites are intended to network tanks, ships, and soldiers by 2029. The project is therefore similar in technical details to the Starlink satellite network operated by SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company.
The constellation is estimated to cost up to ten billion euros, reported last year by the same German daily, adding that the plans excite the German industry and represent a departure from a common European project. The reference is to Iris2, the European Commission initiative through which the EU aims to position itself in managing satellite systems currently dominated by Starlink. While SpaceX has already deployed over 10,000 Starlink satellites in space (half of those in orbit), Iris2 aims to reach full operational capability in the early 2030s.
All details.
POSSIBLE JOINT BID BETWEEN AIRBUS, RHEINMETALL, AND OHB
The Bundeswehr could soon receive a joint three-party proposal instead of separate bids for the satellite constellation project intended for military communications.
Airbus Defence and Space has informed the German Armed Forces Procurement Office that it intends to form a consortium with the other two German companies to win the so-called SATCOM Bw Phase 4 space project, the Bundeswehr’s satellite constellation project.
According to the German daily Der Spiegel, and also confirmed by Bloomberg, the companies involved have decided to explore the path of a joint proposal. According to Spiegel, the three companies consider cooperation absolutely necessary to realize the ambitious project: it is the largest space contract in German history and must be completed quickly.
So far, the companies involved have refused to make statements.
THE VALUE OF THE CONTRACT
According to German press reports, the contract value is estimated between eight and ten billion euros, and is part of a 35 billion euro budget that Berlin intends to allocate for investments in military space technologies by the end of the decade.
POSSIBLE DIVISION OF WORK AMONG THE COMPANIES INVOLVED
In the possible joint bid, the three companies would have distinct roles in carrying out the project.
Drawing on their consolidated experience in the sector, the European manufacturer Airbus and the German industrial group Ohb would be responsible for building the satellites. Rheinmetall, instead, would handle networking the operational weapons systems on land, at sea, and in the air.
STELLAR RISIKO
Finally, Bloomberg recalls that Airbus Defence and Space launched a joint venture with the Italian Leonardo and the French Thales, previously considered a possible competitor to the joint Rheinmetall and Ohb bid for the German contract.
Last October 23, Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the goal of unifying their respective space activities into a new company, code-named Project Bromo.
Ohb’s CEO, Marco Fuchs, had expressed concern about the planned joint venture among three of its competitors, despite the company seeing new opportunities in growing European space spending. In a November 13 conference call on Ohb’s third-quarter financial results, Fuchs stated that the joint venture project between the space business units of Airbus Defence and Space, Leonardo, and Thales Alenia Space represents a challenge for the German company. “This is worrying. We are concerned about our role in the space industry, especially at the European level,” he said.
