Airbus Defence and Space sovereign space intelligence consortium with Rohde & Schwarz, constellr, Orbint and HPS

Led by Airbus as prime contractor and system integrator, the consortium brings together five complementary German specialists to address growing governmental demand for sovereign, end-to-end space-based surveillance capabilities, independent of non-European dependencies.

“Europe has the talent, the technology, and the industrial base to build its own space intelligence infrastructure and the strategic imperative to do so," said Mike Schöllhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space. "This consortium brings together five German companies whose capabilities are genuinely complementary. Together we can deliver a sovereign, end-to-end solution that no single company could offer alone."

“This partnership demonstrates the value of combining the proven expertise of established players with fresh innovation and highly specialized emerging capabilities into operational value for our customers,” said Thomas Bohne, Vice President SIGINT / EW, Rohde & Schwarz. “Rohde & Schwarz has built its reputation on world-class RF technology and mission-critical signal intelligence capabilities. We are committed to working with innovative technology players who bring new perspectives and complementary expertise. Together, we can help shape a sovereign European ISR capability that is technologically strong, resilient, and independent.”

"This is a mission before it is a contract. We are joining this consortium because thermal infrared reconnaissance - the ability to detect operational activity, equipment state, and early-warning indicators that remain invisible to optical and radar sensors - is precisely where the ISR capability gap is greatest. We are proud to contribute that alongside Airbus, and to bring an already operational, sovereign German thermal ISR capability into a programme of this strategic importance", said Max Gulde, CEO and Co-Founder, constellr.