[Satellite News – 07-23-08] Swiss defence company Ruag has been part of the space landscape in Europe for around 30 years, but is looking to play a larger role in the space sector with its acquisition of Saab Space, a supplier of space equipment with sites in Sweden and Austria. 

 “We are strengthening our position in the space business, because space was defined as a strategic priority in Ruag’s 2010 Group strategy,” Peter Scherrer, executive vice president of Ruag Aerospace, told Satellite News. “The acquisition of Saab Space will enable Raug to round out its own aerospace portfolio with new technologies and products, and to establish itself as a leading European equipment provider in the aerospace market.”
    Saab’s operations will be combined with Ruag’s wholly owned subsidiary in Vienna, Austrian Aerospace, which focuses on digital signal processing, thermal hardware, mechanisms and mechanical ground support equipment.
    “Most product areas are complementary and will be combined to enlarge and improve products and services portfolio our customers,” Scherrer said. “There will be only a few redundancies. … Saab Space and Austrian Aerospace already have strong cooperation on cutting-edge technologies and on products geared at important markets like Galileo full operational capability. Ruag’s current products and technology know-how fit very well with their product portfolio and capabilities. Furthermore, in some areas, we will combine products and technologies to offer top-class and competitive equipments and subsystems to our customers.”
    Scherrer believes it is a good time for Ruag to become more involved in the European space arena. “We expect a slight but steady increase in the number of satellites ordered in Europe,” he said. “On the institutional side, a lot will depend on the actual implementation of the Galileo [full operational capability] procurement since this is an important recurring business in the next years. Overall, we are also observing the emergence of a European dual-use market. This trend is expected to continue in response of the various needs and threats modern societies are facing.”
    Scherrer believes the Saab acquisition will position Ruag to take advantage of opportunities in this new dual-use market. “Our portfolio is tailored to these missions and we will certainly continue developing innovative equipment and solutions on our own or in partnership with others to fit our clients needs,” he said. “Our other focus is the satcom market. In this field, there has been a considerable effort made in Sweden, Austria and in Switzerland to streamline the product portfolio, develop new generations as, for instance, a new family of converters, antennas, structural elements, mechanisms, power transmission systems and onboard calculators, to cite only a few examples. Our innovation effort will concentrate in the fields where we anticipate the need of primes and operators and in the downstream segment of Earth observation.”