EADS Defence & Security is investing in high-end radar technologies

In this context, Defence Electronics, an integrated activity of DS, has invested 1.5 million euros to extend its skills and capacity for the production of high-frequency modules under clean-room conditions. From the beginning of this year the Microwave Factory now has about 2,000 square metres of clean-room space available. Approximately 200 employees are working here on the development and production of high-frequency and microwave modules which are intended, in particular, for the self-protection system of the European Eurofighter combat aircraft or for the TerraSAR-X satellite radar. Investing in the Microwave Factory is one of our activities helping us to secure our future as a global leader in security electronics, explains Bernd Wenzler, Head of the Ulm site. This is because top-level skills in high-performance electronics are a prerequisite for further improvements in our competitive situation. For example, EADS Defence & Securitys Microwave Factory at Ulm holds a leading position worldwide in the series production of the so-called transmit/receive (T/R) modules for the new active phased array radars, with electronic beam scanning. These key components give the radars a hitherto unprecedented performance. They are being built in Ulm in large quantities and extremely good quality, as the Ulm staff is currently able to demonstrate with a large order for 30,000 modules for the MEADS air defence system. These unique abilities, together with very close links between development and production within a single organisation, give Ulms Microwave Factory a special competitive advantage. None of our European competitors combines all of these skills from a single source, emphasises Bernd Wenzler. This is why we are very optimistic about a whole series of open tenders. We are now pretty well prepared for these new challenges. At EADS Defence & Securitys Ulm location, about 3,000 employees are working on complex security electronics such as radars, digital radio systems or jammers. 60 per cent of the staff, which is a large proportion compared with the industry average, are engineers.