Hensoldt sees a potential $1 billion opportunity in Germany’s ambition to field an airborne electronic attack capability, with a possible competition launching in the coming months.

Germany has been exploring ways to introduce an electronic attack system under the luWES program for well over a year. The country is looking at options such as installing equipment on large aircraft such as the Airbus A400M, business jets, uncrewed aircraft or a mix of those.

“We consider ourselves very well positioned in this program, depending on customer requirements and subject to the outcome of competitive tendering,” Hensoldt CEO Oliver Dörre said Feb. 26 on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “LuWES has the potential to become a true game changer for Hensoldt. The possible order range spans from multihundred million euros to, in certain scenarios, billion euro levels.”

Dörre noted that the German government has committed to contributing around a dozen jammers to NATO starting around 2030, making for a tight timeline. That means a competition is likely to unfold this year, with timing of contract award somewhat uncertain.

The German government has not spelled out exactly what shape luWES will take.

Hensoldt participated last year in a collaborative industry effort to demonstrate electronic warfare using a mix of airborne assets. The team also included Airbus and Rohde & Schwarz.

Dörre, whose mandate as CEO was extended to 2031 on Feb. 24, described several ways Hensoldt might be involved in the program. These range from contributing to the mission equipment package to potentially serving as system integrator, building on its experience developing the Bombardier Global 6000-based Pegasus signals intelligence aircraft for the German Air Force.

“We have all the experience from Pegasus,” he said. “It could be that we take the full responsibility as a prime or in a partnership with some system integrators on the market.”

Hensoldt also reaffirmed its expectation for Pegasus to grow in Germany beyond the baseline three-aircraft program on contract. The company said it expects about €900 million ($1.1 billion) in orders linked to the second batch.

Hensoldt Chief Financial Officer Christian Ladurner noted that the government has yet to decide whether to provide the Global 6000s in its inventory for conversion, or if the program would involve new aircraft.

The company also is monitoring discussions between France, Germany and Spain on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program as Paris and Berlin look at parting ways on the effort. “We remain committed to contribute to FCAS in whatever shape or form,” Dörre said, noting that Hensoldt would like to be involved in any future sensor and networking efforts.