OHB awarded contract for the regeneration of Bundeswehr ground stations

Bremen, November 11, 2020. OHB Digital Connect GmbH, a subsidiary of the space technology group OHB SE, has now been awarded a contract by the German Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Utilization of the German Armed Forces (BAAINBw) for the regeneration of mobile ground stations for the German Federal Armed Forces' satellite communications system (SATCOMBw).

Bremen-based OHB Digital Connect had only recently pooled its skills by merging with MT Mechatronics, the Mainz-based antenna manufacturer also part of the OHB Group. With the order received from the German Federal Armed Forces, OHB Digital Connect is now taking off in a new formation. "The merger with the Mainz location under the new OHB Digital Connect umbrella was a real effort in view of the corona pandemic. Since September 1, we have been working together and are very proud to have received an order and to be able to accompany the German Federal Armed Forces as a technology partner", says Dennis Winkelmann, Managing Director of OHB Digital Connect. According to Winkelmann, the new contract guarantees an exciting task for the two locations in Bremen and Mainz: "The merger has allowed us to combine the strengths of the two locations in such a way that we have been able to prevail over renowned competitors. Now we are looking forward to working with the Bundeswehr.

Step by step

In order to be able to transmit video files, voice data or other data from different operational sites, the German Armed Forces use the deployable ground stations of the SATCOMBw system in different variants. The system's satellites COMSATBw-1 and COMSATBw-2 are in geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometres. The mobile ground stations as well as further training and simulation facilities are now being gradually updated with systems and hardware at OHB's Mainz location. "First of all, we will be regenerating, testing and verifying a prototype, after which we will be going into series production and starting to regenerate the ground stations," says the OHB systems engineer responsible, Dr. Christian Blohm.

Longstanding partner of the German Federal Armed Forces

OHB has been maintaining business relations with the German armed forces for many years. With the SAR-Lupe system, OHB supplied the German armed forces with its first own satellite-based reconnaissance system in 2007. Since mid-2013, OHB System AG has been working on the development and implementation of SAR-Lupe's successor system SARah.