Rohde & Schwarz is expanding its broad portfolio of electromagnetic spectrum reconnaissance solutions to include space with its investment in Orbint GmbH. Orbint was founded in 2025 by four University of the Bundeswehr Munich research assistants: Alexander Schmidt, Simon Heine, Daniel Weinzierl and Winfried Stock. The startup is setting new technological standards with its approach to satellite based signal intelligence reconnaissance. Using a distributed satellite network, a wide variety of signals will be possible to detected, identified and located in near real time. The data is processed directly on board the satellite.
Combined Clout of a Startup and Technology Company
Alexander Orellano, executive vice president of Technology Systems and member of Corporate Management at Rohde & Schwarz, said, “In the current geopolitical security situation, space-based signal intelligence is a key capability for Europe. With Orbint, we are gaining a highly specialized partner whose expertise and strength in innovation consistently complement our own. As an established technology company, we’ve made a conscious decision to collaborate with a startup. We’re convinced that this type of collaboration can accelerate the development of advanced defense and aerospace technologies.”
Alexander Philipp, managing director of Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs GmbH, added, “For us, the partnership with Orbint is not just a strategically important step towards expanding our technological expertise and portfolio. More importantly, by working together we can offer the German Armed Forces a sovereign solution with a national capability to ensure and further develop their ability to conduct signal intelligence reconnaissance from space.”
The founders of Orbint deliberately chose Rohde & Schwarz as a strategic partner. Alexander Schmidt, co-founder and co-managing director of Orbint GmbH, explained, “It was important for us to find a partner who would not only contribute capital, but also create real added value with their technological depth, substantive expertise and market proximity. Rohde & Schwarz has a broad technological base and strong interfaces in all domains. Combined with our aerospace activities, this creates new potential for innovation and operational excellence. We are very much looking forward to our future collaboration as partners and to our shared vision. At the same time, we are grateful for the excellent startup environment and the tremendous support we have received from the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, which has mentored and shaped our journey from the very beginning.”
From Research to Deployment
Orbint emerged as a spin-off from the SeRANIS small satellite mission funded by dtec.bw. This mission provides an orbiting multifunctional experimental laboratory, which among other things includes space-based communications and reconnaissance technologies.
For the president of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Prof. Dr. mont. Dr.-Ing. habil. Eva-Maria Kern, the spin-off is a particular success for the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, “Today, startups are an essential feature of modern technical sciences. The Orbint spin-off impressively demonstrates that the University of the Bundeswehr Munich is strengthening security and defense-related research in a targeted manner with dtec.bw and creating opportunities in applied research. I am delighted that, in partnership with the renowned technology group Rohde & Schwarz, we are contributing to Germany’s technological sovereignty in space through our developments in the field of satellite technology. Collaborative endeavors such as this are key building blocks for sustainably placing scientific findings at the service of national security.”
Accelerating the transition from basic research to practical application is essential, especially for security-related technologies and key capabilities. Prof. Dr.-Ing Andreas Knopp, head of the SeRANIS project at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, explained, “In just five years, we’ve made the leap from basic research to spin-off. This is a new pace that we urgently need in Germany in order to quickly transform security and defense innovations into effective capabilities. This was made possible by a great team, outstanding conditions at our research center and funding from SeRANIS, Germany’s largest university aerospace research project. From the very beginning, we designed our research to be compatible with industry partners and the German Armed Forces. With Rohde & Schwarz, we now have the ideal partner to bring our technologies into operational systems and complete the transfer into practice.”