OHB and Rheinmetall in talks for the German Armed Forces' largest satellite project

Satellite Business Rheinmetall Checks Cooperation With Satellite Expert OHB

2026-01-27 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

It has now become known that talks are underway between the Bremen-based (Germany) satellite manufacturer OHB and the arms manufacturer Rheinmetall. Read here what it's all about ...

Having already embarked on the path to space armaments at the end of last year, Rheinmetall is now taking the next step in this direction. They want to cooperate with OHB. Read more here ...(Image: OHB) — Having already embarked on the path to space armaments at the end of last year, Rheinmetall is now taking the next step in this direction. They want to cooperate with OHB. Read more here ...
(Image: OHB)

OHB and Rheinmetall are in deep talks because both want to bid for what is said to be the largest satellite project of the German armed forces. No less than 11.8 billion USD are at stake. Airbus is also said to be interested in the project. According to the information, tanks, ships and even individual soldiers are to be networked via around 200 new satellites by 2029 as part of the project. Experts see this as a similar idea to the Starlink satellite network, which is operated by Spacex, Elon Musk's space company. The tender for the Bundeswehr project may be launched in February, according to reports.

Rheinmetall Will Have A Say in Space Armament

Regardless of the outcome: Rheinmetall intends to be involved in the satellite sector anyway. This was already made clear at the end of last year through a joint venture with the Finnish satellite specialist Iceye, which enabled the company to secure a major contract worth 2.0 billion USD from the German Armed Forces in order to gain access to space-based reconnaissance data. The satellites are to be manufactured at the Rheinmetall plant in Neuss from March at the earliest, and from June 2026 at the latest, which will switch from the production of car parts to the manufacture of military equipment.

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