Airbus DS Electronics and Border Security (EBS) is a world leading provider of premium electronics in the areas of protection, surveillance and situational awareness. It is the global No. 1 in missile warning systems, a leading provider of border surveillance equipment and THE German sensor house with a major position in the radar, optronics and electronic warfare markets.
Customers benefit from EBS' strong heritage capitalizing on renowned names such as Dasa, Siemens, Aerospatiale-Matra, Telefunken, Dornier and Zeiss. It employs today approximately 4,000 employees generating revenues of around €1 billion a year.
EBS is a 100% subsidiary of Airbus Defence and Space. Airbus Group has signed a share purchase agreement with the investment company KKR in order to transfer ownership of initially 74.9% of the EBS shares to KKR. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and employee consultation, and is expected to be put into effect in the first quarter of 2017. Thereafter, the company will appear under the brand name "Hensoldt" following the tradition of a German pioneer of sensor technology whose name stands for the combination of excellence, innovation and efficiency.
EBS is addressing the market via several legal entities closely cooperating with security authorities and armed forces as well as system providers worldwide. Areas of operation are air defence, airborne self-protection, vehicle and convoy protection, signal intelligence as well as night vision and optronic targeting. In the fields of security, EBS' products are deployed to protect critical infrastructure and to provide security forces with real-time situational awareness. Its portfolio includes radar and identification systems (IFF), electronic warfare and situational awareness, optronic sensors and data links. Furthermore, the portfolio also comprises avionics equipment, such as avionics computers, digital map units and situational awareness systems for helicopters.
As a technology leader, EBS drives the development of radar technology, particularly in the area of next-generation active electronically scanning (AESA) radars for space, air, naval and ground applications. Transversally, multi-sensor integration and data fusion technology is particularly useful, creating added value by combining radars with optronic sensors and thermal imagers from its extensive optronics portfolio. Therein, cameras, telescopes, thermal imaging devices and periscopes constitute indispensable elements of situational awareness for naval, airborne and ground-based platforms.
Among the most prominent air and space platforms equipped by the company's products are the F-16 and Eurofighter (radar, self-protection, avionics) combat aircraft, the Tandem-X satellites, the A400M transport aircraft (self-protection, avionics) as well as helicopters of various types. Furthermore, the company provides mission-critical equipment to the Puma and Leopard armoured vehicles, the US Navy Littoral Combat Ship and the German Navy F125 frigate.
