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Rheinmetall and Rohde&Schwarz aim for Bundeswehr procurement programmes
Rheinmetall and Rohde & Schwarz have entered a far-reaching partnership with an eye to playing a role in the future digitization of Germany’s ground forces.
The two high-tech enterprises have agreed to establish a joint venture to compete for two major German procurement projects: MoTaKo, which stands for “mobile tactical communications”, and “MoTIV”, short for “mobile tactical information network”. Rheinmetall will have a 74.9 percent stake in the joint venture, with Rohde & Schwarz holding the remaining 25.1 percent.
Representatives of the two companies have now signed a contractual agreement to this effect. MoTaKo and MoTIV are the German Army’s principle modernization projects. Total order volume is likely to be in the mid-ten-figure euro range, with thousands of Bundeswehr vehicles alone earmarked for retrofitting.
“By joining forces, Rheinmetall and Rohde & Schwarz have formed the ideal team for creating and implementing a digital communication and information management system for the Bundeswehr”, declares Armin Papperger, chief executive of Rheinmetall AG. “The planned joint venture will have at its finger tips the full range of expertise needed to reliably implement the MoTaKo and MoTIV projects, with everything derived from a single source. In order to do this, we intend to include other prominent defence contractors in the process.”
Peter Riedel, President and COO of Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG, notes that “secure, up-to-date communications solutions play a crucial role in assuring effective command and control in combat operations. Together with Rheinmetall, we want to assist long term in the process of modernizing the Bundeswehr. In doing so, we can draw on our longstanding experience and trustworthy technology, which enables national information superiority as well as interoperability. Flexible solutions from Rohde & Schwarz assure secure communications in all kinds of operational scenarios.”
Developed in tandem, MoTaKo and MoTIV will form the future “Heer/Streitkräftebasis” digital command and control system. In the still-to-be-established joint venture company, Rheinmetall will be responsible for the command systems, the cross-functional operator interface and the complete vehicle integration process. Rohde & Schwarz will contribute its IP-based system solutions for secure communications.
