OHB Plays Both Sides of Space: ESA Science Mission and AI Defense Venture Propel Stock

German aerospace group OHB secures ESA's SOVA-S science mission for Czech subsidiary and joins KIRK defense consortium for Germany's Spock 2 program, driving record backlog and quintupling stock price.

OHB SE is running a dual-track space strategy that has investors scrambling for a piece of the action. The Bremen-based aerospace group has simultaneously secured a European Space Agency (ESA) science mission for its Czech subsidiary and joined a heavyweight consortium bidding for Germany’s next-generation military satellite system. The result: a stock that has more than quintupled since the start of the year.

The ESA nod came last week when the agency selected OHB Czechspace’s SOVA-S mission for the next development phase — one of only two Scout-class proposals to advance after ten months of review. SOVA-S will study atmospheric gravity waves at altitudes of 80 to 120 kilometres on a shoestring budget of under €35 million, with a target launch within three years. The data is expected to improve climate and space-weather models, as well as enhance GNSS positioning accuracy for aviation. OHB Czechspace will act as prime contractor and, according to the company, build the largest satellite ever manufactured in the Czech Republic. German Aerospace Center (DLR) and other industrial partners are on board.

On the defense front, OHB has teamed up with AI specialist Helsing, sensor maker Hensoldt and Norwegian defence group Kongsberg to form a joint venture named KIRK. The consortium is pursuing the Bundeswehr’s Spock 2 programme, a multi-billion-euro contract for a space-based surveillance and targeting system that pairs reconnaissance satellites with real-time artificial intelligence for automated target recognition. The competition is stiff — Rheinmetall and Airbus are also expected to bid. But OHB has a structural advantage: the German military procurement office is opening a satellite office right at the company’s headquarters in Bremen. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has earmarked roughly €35 billion for space-related spending through 2030.

The financial numbers underpin the narrative. OHB reported first-quarter total output of €279.3 million, up 15% from €242.4 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose to €27.3 million from €20.0 million. The order backlog swelled to a record €3.35 billion — a 45% jump year-on-year — with the Space Systems segment accounting for €2.68 billion of that total. Management has guided for full-year total output of €1.4 billion in the current year and a target of €2 billion from 2028 onward.

The stock has become a momentum play. On May 21, Tradegate showed an estimated price of €630.50, a daily gain of 10.6% and a five-day advance of 27.1%. On the Vienna Stock Exchange, the share briefly touched €651, up 16.7% on the day. Over the past week alone, the stock surged more than 65% to around €625. That rally has pushed the market capitalisation to nearly €11 billion and the price-to-earnings ratio to 157 for the 2026 earnings estimate and 101 for 2027. The valuation is undeniably rich, but investors are betting that the ESA mission and the KIRK defence venture will translate into tangible revenue down the line.

For now, the financial contribution from SOVA-S remains unspecified — OHB has not disclosed any revenue or margin figures tied to the mission. Similarly, key details about KIRK’s capitalisation, duration and contract value are still pending. The next concrete catalysts for the share price are the annual general meeting on June 8 and second-quarter results on August 6, 2026. Until then, the market will be watching for any further project announcements or progress signals from either the civilian or military track.