The technology group Rohde & Schwarz is entering into a strategic partnership with the Munich-based Startup Orbint. The spin-off of Bundeswehr University Munich Rohde & Schwarz has been working on satellite-based signal-gathering reconnaissance since 2025. With this investment, Rohde & Schwarz expands its portfolio in the electromagnetic spectrum to include space applications. The four founders, Alexander Schmidt, Simon Heine, Daniel Weinzierl, and Winfried Stock, are developing a distributed satellite network that detects, identifies, and locates signals in near real-time. The system processes the data directly on board the satellites.
Alexander Orellano, Executive Vice President Technology Systems at Rohde & Schwarz, says:
"In the current security climate, signals intelligence from space is a key capability for Europe. With Orbint, we are gaining a highly specialized partner whose expertise and innovative strength perfectly complement our own. As an established technology company, we are deliberately choosing to collaborate with a startup. We are convinced that such cooperation can accelerate the development of modern defense and space technologies."
Orbint co-founder Alexander Schmidt emphasizes the importance of the partner:
“It was important for us to find a partner who not only contributes capital but also creates genuine added value through technological depth, substantive expertise, and market proximity. Rohde & Schwarz has a broad technological base and strong interfaces across all domains. Combined with our activities in the aerospace sector, this opens up new potential for innovation and operational excellence. We are very much looking forward to future collaboration and our shared vision. At the same time, we are grateful for the excellent startup environment and the outstanding support from the Bundeswehr University Munich, which has accompanied and shaped our journey from the very beginning.”
Orbint: From research to deployment
Orbint originated from the small satellite mission SeRANIS (Seamless Radio Access Networks for Internet of Space), an orbital experimental laboratory for communication and reconnaissance technologies. For the university president... Eva-Maria Kern The spin-off demonstrates how security-relevant research is put into practice:
“Founding new companies is now an integral part of modern engineering science. The spin-off Orbint impressively demonstrates that the Bundeswehr University Munich, through its Dtec.bw division, is specifically strengthening research relevant to security and defense and creating pathways to its application. I am pleased that, together with the renowned technology group Rohde & Schwarz, we are contributing to Germany's technological sovereignty in space through our development in the field of satellite technology. Collaborations like this are essential building blocks for sustainably harnessing scientific findings for the benefit of national security.”
Andreas Knopp, spokesperson for the SPACE space research center and initiator of the SeRANIS project, adds regarding the dynamics of the development:
“In just five years, we have successfully made the leap from basic research to spin-off company. This new pace is urgently needed in Germany to rapidly transform innovations in the security and defense context into effective capabilities. This was made possible by a fantastic team, excellent conditions at our research center, and funding through SeRANIS, Germany’s largest university-based space research project. From the outset, we have designed our research to be compatible with industrial partners and the German Armed Forces. With Rohde & Schwarz, we now have the ideal partner to integrate our technologies into operational systems and complete the practical transfer.”
