Rheinmetall and OHB Launch Joint Venture for Military Satellite Network (heise.de)

• Antitrust approval granted for Rheinmetall and OHB satellite partnership.
• Strategic focus on SATCOMBw Stage 4 implementation.
• Direct effort to challenge existing industry incumbents and foreign dependencies.

"German industrial giants Rheinmetall and OHB have received antitrust approval for a joint venture focused on the SATCOMBw Stage 4 military satellite communications project. This initiative seeks to establish a sovereign, hardened orbital infrastructure to counter the market dominance of Airbus and the operational reliance on systems like Starlink. By securing this contract, the firms aim to bolster Germany’s strategic autonomy in space, ensuring secure communications for the Bundeswehr independent of third-party commercial providers."