Hensoldt's acquisition of British sensor company Kelvin Hughes has been concluded, following through on the share purchase agreement signed in June. Kelvin Hughes is a world leader in maritime navigation, surveillance and security radar systems. Hensoldt is the independent sensor house that resulted from a spin-off of the security and defense electronics activities of the Airbus group.

“Our portfolios and market access are highly complementary and we will see significant growth from this transaction”, said Thomas Müller, chief executive officer of Hensoldt. “The Kelvin Hughes product portfolio will allow us to enter more price-sensitive markets and will add value to our products and bring us one step closer toward our strategic objective to develop into a sensor solutions provider, [leveraging] our radar, optronics and electronic warfare portfolio,” he added.

“I am proud that Kelvin Hughes is becoming a part of Hensoldt,“ said Kelvin Hughes CEO Russell Gould. “Both companies have shaped the radar market for seven decades and I am looking forward to the tremendous opportunities we have together.”

Kelvin Hughes has some 200 employees, who generate annual revenues of more than $35 million from sales to more than 30 navies and coast guards worldwide. The company’s product include the SharpEye solid-state high performance pulse doppler radar family and the CxEye command-and-control software that allows the integration of multiple radar and camera sensors into a comprehensive display package.

At the recent DSEI show in London, Kelvin Hughes demonstrated its drone detection and tracking system that combines initial detection by radar with a thermal camera and video tracker.