OHB Sets Sights on Real-Time Space Intelligence as Bundeswehr Descends on Bremen

The German defence procurement agency is moving in next door. The Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) is opening a new office directly at OHB’s headquarters in Bremen, a logistical signal that the line between space engineering and military operations is blurring fast. Bremen’s mayor Andreas Bovenschulte expects the move to create a three-digit number of local jobs alone.

That physical proximity is already paying strategic dividends. OHB has teamed up with AI specialist Helsing, radar expert Hensoldt and Norwegian defence contractor Kongsberg to form KIRK, a joint venture targeting the Bundeswehr’s SPOCK-2 programme. The consortium’s pitch hinges on a software-defined satellite architecture that processes data on board and uses artificial intelligence to identify threats in near real time. Military planners call this shortening the “kill-chain” — the interval between detecting a target and engaging it. CEO Marco Fuchs describes space-based systems as the cornerstone of Bundeswehr modernisation.

The group’s order book gives it the financial heft to back that ambition. At the end of March, the contract pipeline stood at €3.35 billion, up from roughly €2 billion a year earlier, with Space Systems contributing €2.68 billion. First-quarter total performance rose 15 per cent to €279.3 million, while adjusted EBITDA came in at €27.3 million. The equity ratio of 29.7 per cent provides a solid cushion to fund large government programmes.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?

Investors have piled in. The stock touched a session high of €595 on Tuesday after the KIRK announcement, before settling around €584 the following day. That marks a stunning ascent from around €117 at the start of the year. The broader market stayed calm — the DAX closed at roughly 24,400 points — but the rally reflects a fundamental reassessment of OHB’s role as defence budgets tilt towards space.

The comparison with SpaceX, which is expected to list in June, adds an extra layer of pressure. OHB now carries a market capitalisation of around €10.5 billion, a valuation that already prices in a lot of good news. Management forecasts revenue above €2.0 billion by 2028 and an EBIT margin of roughly 9 per cent. Achieving those targets will depend on securing a meaningful slice of the €35 billion that Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has pledged for space-based security by 2030.

KIRK is precisely the kind of venture designed to capture that spending. By blending hardware with real-time data and AI, OHB is repositioning itself from a pure satellite builder to a central node in Europe’s security architecture. The Bremer office and the political backing now offer a rare combination of proximity, purpose and purse. Execution will determine whether the share price story holds.