The ArGe D-LBO (Working Group) of KNDS and Rheinmetall will equip 10,000 Bundeswehr vehicles with digital radio equipment.
~
KNDS Press Release, Munich / Koblenz, 19 December 2024: The ArGe D-LBO (Working group for digitalising land-based operations) of KNDS Deutschland and Rheinmetall has been commissioned by the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to digitise the command-and-control equipment of the land forces’ vehicle systems. The total volume of the contract, which has a term of six years, is €1.98bn gross. KNDS Deutschland accounts for half of this amount.
The ‘digitalisation of land-based operations’ is one of the German Army’s most important projects in the field of state-of-the-art communications. The focus of the IT-conversion is about replacing the radios with the new D-LBO command radio transmitters and exchanging the software. This new IT system consists of communication devices, computers, software and IT-services, and further more. Hence, it enables the interconnection of platforms, soldiers and sensors for the exchange of information in real-time, and thus increases their operational capabilities and interoperability.
![Bundeswehr LGS FENNEK reconnaissance vehicles deployed to Sardinia in 2023 [© Bob Morrison]](https://www.joint-forces.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/01-NOJU23-2558.jpg)
The contract includes all work for the integration of new digital radio transmitters and command-and-control systems within various sample integrations and is awarded in its entirety to the contractor ArGe D-LBO, which will ensure the implementation of the overall contract.
The integration of the series will commence in mid-2025 and will comprise around 10,000 Bundeswehr combat and support vehicles. The conversion is expected to be completed by the end of 2030.
~ § ~
Rheinmetall Press Release 1, Düsseldorf, 19 December 2024: The ArGe D-LBO (Working group for digitalising land-based operations) of KNDS Deutschland and Rheinmetall has been commissioned by the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw: Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr) to digitise the command-and-control equipment of the land forces’ vehicle systems. The total volume of the contract, which has a term of six years, is €1.98bn gross. Rheinmetall accounts for half of this amount.
The ‘digitalisation of land-based operations’ is one of the German Army’s most important projects in the field of state-of-the-art communications. The focus of the IT-conversion is about replacing the radios with the new D-LBO command radio transmitters and exchanging the software. This new IT system consists of communication devices, computers, software and IT-services, and further more. Hence, it enables the interconnection of platforms, soldiers and sensors for the exchange of information in real-time, and thus increases their operational capabilities and interoperability.
The contract includes all work for the integration of new digital radio transmitters and command-and-control systems within various sample integrations and is awarded in its entirety to the contractor ArGe D-LBO, which will ensure the implementation of the overall contract.
The integration of the series will commence in mid-2025 and will comprise around 10,000 Bundeswehr combat and support vehicles. The conversion is expected to be completed by the end of 2030.
At the same time, a second contract was concluded with ArGe ISI (IT-system integration), which includes the amalgamation of the IT-systems of all vehicle- and platform-systems of the land forces as part of the D-LBO project. The contract awarded to ArGe ISI, which is formed by Rheinmetall and the company blackned GmbH, has a gross order volume of around €1.2bn.
~ § ~
Rheinmetall Press Release 2, Düsseldorf, 19 December 2024: In cooperation with its partner company blackned, Rheinmetall has received a large-scale order for a major project within the programme ‘Digitalisation of land-based operations’ (D-LBO) by the German Bundeswehr, worth €1.2bn gross. The order includes the integration of IT-systems for all vehicle and platform-systems of the land forces. Rheinmetall accounts for around €730m gross of the contract volume. The remaining share of around €470m goes to blackned GmbH.
The corresponding procurement contract has now been signed by representatives of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) and the ISI working group (ArGe IT-Systemintegration), which is made up of the companies blackned GmbH and Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH. Among others subcontractors, Airbus Defence and Space GmbH will be the outstanding ArGe-partner.
Until mid of 2030, the new technology will be integrated in more than 10,000 combat and support vehicles of the Bundeswehr. This hardware-related integration part, which will incorporate the pre-conversion of the vehicle platforms, has been manifested in a second procurement order. Contractor in this case is ArGe D-LBO, consisting of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG.
D-LBO is a key-project in modernising the land forces of the Bundeswehr and one of the most significant procurement schemes of the German Army. The modern IT enables the interconnectivity of vehicles and soldiers as well as of sensors and effectors while the exchange of real-time information increases the operational capabilities and interoperability of units equipped with D-LBO.
Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG: “We are grateful that we can contribute significantly to the digitalisation of the land forces in this project – both in IT development and in equipping the hardware. The new technology will increase the command-and-control capability of the army units fundamentally, and improves the interoperability within the Bundeswehr and with NATO allies, which will be particularly important for the new Brigade 45 in Lithuania”.
The contract for IT-system integration has a term of up to ten years and covers all activities concerning the integration of new digital radio and command systems into a standardised IT-system. The configuration control will be in the hands of BWI GmbH, the Bundeswehr’s head office for IT-systems.
~ § ~
