New European defence company HENSOLDT launched

Following the closing of the transaction between Airbus Group SE (stock exchange symbol: AIR) and KKR, a leading global investment firm, a new European defence company headquartered in Germany, HENSOLDT, has been launched.  

The new company employs 4,000 highly qualified staff, about 3,400 in Germany and 600 in South Africa. The main industrial sites are Taufkirchen/Munich, Ulm, Friedrichshafen and Oberkochen in Germany and Pretoria in South Africa. A dedicated representative office in Berlin has been established and several offices represent the new enterprise in countries like India, US, Chile, Brazil, South Korea and Spain.  

The new company, headquartered in Taufkirchen close to Munich, will be led by an Executive Committee comprising CEO Thomas Müller, head of HR Peter Fieser, head of Finance Axel Salzmann and head of Operations Peter Schlote. Further members of the Executive Committee are head of Electronic Warfare/Situational Awareness Uwe Virkus, head of Radar/IFF/Data links Erwin Paulus, head of Optronics Andreas Hülle, head of Sales & Marketing Sabine K. Hipp, head of Strategic Business Development Celia Pelaz and General Counsel Solms U. Wittig.  

The HENSOLDT brand derives from Moritz Carl Hensoldt (1821-1903), a German pioneer of optics and precision mechanics who developed benchmark technology solutions and products in his field. The name HENSOLDT stands for premium solutions, combining excellence, innovation and efficiency.  

HENSOLDT will provide leading edge technology solutions to armed forces and security agencies. Firmly grounded in its three product lines - Optronics, Radar/IFF/Datalink and Electronic Warfare/Situational Awareness – the company offers sensor solutions for air, sea and land applications. This includes the protection of critical infrastructures, air defence, airborne self-protection, vehicle and convoy protection, signal intelligence and data links, as well as night vision, thermal imaging, laser rangefinding and optronic targeting. Furthermore, the portfolio comprises mission avionics equipment, such as computers, mission planning devices and situational awareness systems for helicopters.  

HENSOLDT is a key contributor to major European defence acquisition programs and has demonstrated its global reach by winning a number of international contracts. Among the most prominent air and space platforms equipped by HENSOLDT are the F-16, Eurofighter, Gripen and Rafale combat aircraft, the Tandem-X and EDRS-A satellites, the A400M transport aircraft, as well as helicopters of various types. Furthermore, the company provides mission-critical equipment to the PUMA and LEOPARD II armoured vehicles, the class 212 and 209 submarines, the US Navy “Freedom” class Littoral Combat Ship and the German Navy F125 frigate. HENSOLDT’s sights and night vision optics have also been chosen for the German Future Soldier Programme “Infanterist der Zukunft”.  

Innovation is deeply embedded in HENSOLDT’s DNA. Leading-edge solutions like the modular counter-UAV system XPeller, that protects critical infrastructures against drones and the passive radar system that provides a common air picture without any active emission stand proof of HENSOLDT’s highly advanced technologies. In addition, HENSOLDT advances a number of strategic technologies defined by the German government which are well equipped for a prominent role in future programs like TLVS, MKS-180, Eurofighter AESA radar, the Heavy Transport Helicopter and airborne SIGINT.