Rohde & Schwarz celebrated the official opening of its new naval centre of competence in Wissenschaftspark Kiel (Kiel science park) on 30 August 2023. The move into the new facilities is aimed at expanding the company’s traditionally close collaboration with the German Navy and naval industry.
Prominent guests present at the opening included Daniel Günther, the Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein; Dr Johann Wadephul, Deputy Chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group; Dr Ulf Kämpfer, Lord Mayor of Kiel; and Rear Admiral Christoph Müller-Meinhard, Director Materiel of the German Navy’s Command and Control Directorate. Numerous other high-ranking guests included politicians and representatives from the German armed forces and industry.
For many years the rapidly growing Rohde & Schwarz team of around 60 employees in Kiel has been working on complex, large-scale naval projects that focus mainly on system engineering, software development and integration of communications systems and electronic support measures for the self-protection of naval vessels. The team develops and implements system solutions for secure communications and to improve situational awareness aboard naval vessels.
“For decades Rohde & Schwarz has been a reliable, long-term partner for more than 40 navies around the world, providing scalable, modular and adaptable solutions,” Peter Riedel, the company’s president and COO, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “Together with the Rohde & Schwarz location in Hamburg, the proximity of our new naval centre of competence in Kiel to naval bases in Kiel, Eckernförde, Wilhelmshaven and Warnemünde and to shipyards in Hamburg and Bremen creates ideal conditions for close, long-term collaboration with our customers.”
“The move to this new state-of-the-art location in Wissenschaftspark Kiel also gives us the space we need for our planned strategic growth to pursue current and future large-scale German projects as well as international naval projects,” said Alexander Philipp, managing director of Rohde & Schwarz Vertriebs.
His colleague Jörg Ritter, one of the two Kiel site managers, added, “Rohde & Schwarz is achieving this in close collaboration with local partners and by promoting talent in northern Germany. The proximity to Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, CAU) and the Hermann Ehlers Foundation is ideal for a close exchange with the research and academic communities.”
In the near future Rohde & Schwarz plans to recruit further experts for its naval centre of competence at the location, particularly in the fields of system engineering and system/software development.
Peter Felstead
