Germany to place $2.3 billion satellites order with OHB space and technology group

Germany plans to buy three satellites for its armed forces from OHB SE developing high-tech solutions for space missions in an order worth 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion).

Lawmakers from Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition are set to approve the purchase during a closed-door meeting of a parliamentary budget committee on June 12, according to Bloomberg.

The lawmakers are also expected to greenlight the purchase of two additional navy F126 frigates for about three billion euros ($3.2 billion) in a plan announced last week. Berlin is also ordering 20 more Eurofighter jets for as much as four billion euros ($4.3 billion).

The big-ticket procurements are part of Germany’s push to modernise the Bundeswehr triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Bremen, Germany-based OHB, which employs more than 3,000 people, specialises in satellite systems for earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, science and reconnaissance. The German order is for two communication satellites and a frequency-securing satellite.

Scholz has doubled down on his pledge that Germany will meet NATO’s defense-spending goal of two per cent of gross domestic product over the longer term, even after a debt-financed 100 billion euro ($107.5 billion) special fund is exhausted after 2027.

How the government can achieve that given lower tax revenue projections and a strict constitutional limit on net new borrowing — known as the debt brake — remains to be seen.

OHB SE is a listed space and technology Group domiciled in Bremen.

OHB SE is divided into three business segments: SPACE SYSTEMS, AEROSPACE and DIGITAL. The Group employs a workforce of more than 3,000 at 15 locations.

OHB System AG, OHB SE's largest subsidiary, headquartered in Bremen and with a second strong site in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, has more than 40 years of experience in the development of high-tech solutions for space missions and other fields of application. Its portfolio of products and services ranges from the realisation of satellite systems for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications, science and reconnaissance to the design and implementation of missions for space exploration and the development of equipment for human space flight.