Hensoldt to take over Kelvin Hughes

German defense contractor and sensor manufacturer Hensoldt is to acquire UK radar specialist Kelvin Hughes after owner ECI Partners agreed to sell its investment in the company.

The announcement follows Hensoldt’s acquisition of EuroAvionics in May this year.

Hensoldt is a new company, spun off from Airbus Group in 2017, specializing in sensor systems.  Its flagship product is the TRS series of radar systems for naval and land platforms.

“Kelvin Hughes is highly successful in the marine and security markets, while HENSOLDT has a strong position in the higher-end military and surveillance radar domains. Our portfolios and market access are highly complementary and we will see significant growth from this transaction. The Kelvin Hughes product portfolio will allow us to enter more price-sensitive markets and their security solutions will add value to the HENSOLDT products and bring us one step closer towards our strategic objective to develop our Sensor House into a Sensor Solutions provider,” Thomas Müller, CEO of Hensoldt said.

Russell Gould, CEO of Kelvin Hughes said: “Following the buyout from Smiths Group, ECI has been a consistent and supportive partner as we have consolidated our position as a global leader in surveillance and security radar solutions.

“With the support of ECI, we have developed cutting-edge technologies, introduced new solutions and expanded our global reach across 60 countries. We are excited to partner with HENSOLDT on the next phase of Kelvin Hughes’ growth, benefiting from its expertise and capabilities in sensors to offer additional services to our clients and further opportunities to our employees.”