German Armed Forces order satellites from Airbus, no need for Starlink

The German armed forces have awarded Airbus Defence and Space a major contract worth 2.1 billion euros so that the defense and space company can take satellite communications for the armed forces (SATCOMBw) to the next level. This means that the German military will no longer have to rely on the availability of commercial satellite networks such as Starlink from Elon Musk's SpaceX group. According to Airbus, the contract includes the development, integration, testing and in-orbit delivery of two new telecommunications satellites. The military Earth satellites will fly in geostationary orbit, i.e. in a circular path 35,786 kilometers above the equator's surface.

The Airbus satellites of the new generation are based on the Eurostar Neo platform, the Munich-based company announced. They will weigh around 6 tons and "have extensive capabilities to keep pace with the rapid changes in digitalization and the constantly increasing volume of data transmission". Airbus currently maintains the COMSATBw 1B and 2B earth satellites for the German Armed Forces, which form the basis of SATCOMBw level 2. The Group also operates a large ground station in Weilheim within this framework. Like the two military-operated counterparts at the Gerolstein and Kastellaun sites, it serves as an anchor station for data transmission to and from the satellites and as an interface to the terrestrial communication networks.

The new contract for stage 3 also includes the upgrade of the existing ground segment for an initial further 15 years, with the option of a further extension. The Ministry of Defense sees the resulting availability of its own transmission capacity as a "basic requirement for national and alliance defence". The German government recently emphasized that the German armed forces do not necessarily need the satellite constellation planned by the EU for high-availability broadband Internet IRIS2 or private alternatives such as Starlink thanks to SATCOMBw.

OHB from Bremen is involved

In addition to Airbus, Bremen-based space technology group OHB and medium-sized local companies are also involved in the project. Central elements such as the guidance and integration of the payloads, the solar arrays and the overall operation of the required spacecraft are to come from Germany. According to a report, the Budget Committee released EUR 2.1 billion for Bundeswehr satellites in June. According to the report, OHB is also to send a frequency protection satellite into space and operate it. The aim is to keep the channels allocated by the International Telecommunication Union ITU available.

The head of Airbus Defense and Space, Michael Schöllhorn, was pleased to be able to offer "a significantly improved military satcom capability that is future-proof into the 2040s" with this order. Long-term partnerships are "crucial for ensuring essential sovereignty and capabilities and for protecting our armed forces in an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment". Ralph Herzog, Vice President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, emphasized that with SATCOMBw Level 3, the German military will have a war-ready communications system. However, the Ministry of Defense recently had to admit that two of the three satellites in OHB's Sarah espionage program, which will be launched into space at the end of 2023, have technical problems: they can not yet provide radar images. The reason: the antenna masts with the sensors cannot be folded out.

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