The European Commission has signed an agreement with OHB System AG to commence work on the €90 million ODIN’S EYE II space-based early warning system for ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
The multinatiOnal Development INitiative for a Space-based missilE earlY-warning architecturE (ODIN’S EYE) project was created by the European Commission with the aim of developing a sovereign space-based early missile warning capability. Once operational, the system would be responsible for the detection and tracking of ballistic missiles before handing them over to ground-based radars.
The first phase of the ODIN’S EYE project began in July 2021 and was awarded to a consortium led by OHB System AG, a subsidiary of OHB SE. The consortium comprised of 34 companies from 12 countries. This initial phase had a contracted value of €7.5 million in EU funding and included initial studies that were completed over a period of 24 months.
OHB System AG was selected as the projector coordinator for the second phase of the ODIN’S EYE project in June. The project was one of 41 that received a share of €832 million in EU funding following a 2022 call for proposals under the European Defence Fund. With this second phase of the project, the consortium has grown to 43 companies from 14 European countries.
On 22 December, OHB announced that the grant agreement for the project had been signed, giving the company and its consortium partners the green light to begin this next phase of the development of the early missile warning system.
“Europe’s sovereignty and defence capability will also be decided in space, and a dedicated early warning capability is essential in regard to the current geopolitical state of the world,” said Sabine von der Recke, the responsible board member at OHB System AG.
During this second phase of the ODIN’S EYE project, the OHB-led consortium will be responsible for defining, developing, integrating, and verifying the entire mission and system simulator. This phase of the project is expected to last approximately three years.
