Rheinmetall and Rohde & Schwarz have signed a notarized article of agreement for a joint venture company which the two technology groups will use to bid for two major Bundeswehr procurement programmes: MoTaKo (German military shorthand for “Mobile Taktische Kommunikation” or mobile tactical communication), and MoTIV, which stands for “Mobiler Taktischer Informationsverbund”, or mobile tactical information network. Final establishment of the joint venture is still pending anti-trust approval. Rheinmetall will hold a 74.9% share in the new company, with the remaining 25.1% held by Rohde & Schwarz.
Back in March 2017 Rheinmetall and Rohde & Schwarz agreed to a wide-ranging partnership in order to play a leading role in the future digitization of Germany’s ground forces.
In this vital project, the joint venture plans to draw on the expertise and solutions of additional partners in order to put forward the best-possible proposal with regard to capabilities and competitiveness, while taking due account of national confidentiality and security imperatives.
As digital services for mobile elements, MoTaKo and MoTIV are the German Army’s principal modernization projects for ground operations, with Bundeswehr’s entire communication system and thousands of vehicles earmarked for retrofitting in the medium term; the scope of applications extends from tactical operation centres down to the individual infantryman on the ground.
In the new joint venture company, Rheinmetall will be responsible for the command systems, the cross-functional operator interface and the complete vehicle integration process. Drawing on its core competency of secure communication, Rohde & Schwarz is in charge of the complete architecture, including IT and cyber security as well as the IP-based system solution for robust, military voice and data transmission, including incorporation of components and solutions from other contractors.
A huge, highly sophisticated, time-critical project, MoTaKo and MoTIV are also vital for protecting the Bundeswehr from cyber threats, and will require full integration into the German military’s IT system. Cooperation between the two companies and other contractors will result in an overarching approach based on market-ready, steadily evolving solutions.