Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Oelgart, about two years ago, the Belgian Intersoft Electronics Group decided to establish a German subsidiary in Wilhelmshaven. What prompted this development?

Thorsten Oelgart: Intersoft Electronics has been involved in the development of radar technology, particularly for military applications, for over six decades. In 2020 and 2021, we made a comprehensive commitment to the German Navy, and it was foreseeable that our expertise in this context would be in demand for the long-term maintenance of the systems we installed. Therefore, the establishment of our own subsidiary in Wilhelmshaven, the largest Bundeswehr site with over 10,000 service posts represented there, was a logical step, which also proved to be extremely profitable for us economically in a very short time.

Thus, by 2023 we were able to generate numerous additional contracts that touch on the diverse service offerings of our company.

Wirtschaftsforum: In which projects exactly are you involved?

Thorsten Oelgart: In November 2023, for example, we were charged with the IFF Mode 5 conformity assessment of a frigate of the Baden-Wuerttemberg class. This friend-foe identification technology must now be demonstrated by every participant in international missions to ensure interoperability with NATO forces – after all, it is probably the most important measure to prevent 'friendly fire'. Past accidents, such as those during the Yugoslav Wars, teach us the catastrophic consequences that possible failures of these systems can entail.

For obvious security reasons, extensive platform certifications must therefore be carried out, which Intersoft can map not only with rigorous reliability but also within a tight timeframe. In the project in question, we already conducted the first on-board inspection in January following the entry, after collecting the configuration data and the ensuing system evaluations, with successful testing taking place in April where the surveys could be verified using test aircraft.
 

Wirtschaftsforum: Intersoft now also employs drones in these surveys.

Thorsten Oelgart: The measuring devices we use are now so small that they can indeed be easily mounted on drones, allowing us to fully utilize the varied benefits of this technology. It is still new territory for many, even though we have been offering this solution for several years now. It has found a very wide appeal among our customers, simply because it opens up completely new measuring possibilities. Some measurements that are possible now could not be conducted at all in the past. Drones are simply much more agile and precise than measuring aircraft – our positional accuracy is now less than 10 cm, while aircraft rarely achieve measurements within the meter range. The current limitations are less technical and more regulatory in nature. Thus, drones may still not be flown 'beyond visual line of sight' in Germany, as the military jargon goes. That they are now the best workhorses we have to offer in our segment is hardly seriously disputed anymore.
 

Wirtschaftsforum: Almost all high-tech companies are struggling with the pervasive shortage of skilled workers – especially when they primarily operate in segments with cutting-edge expertise. What challenges does this pose for Intersoft?

Thorsten Oelgart: Thanks to the close integration with our corporate group and a global network of 300 employees, we can rely on the global impact of our grown expertise at our location in Wilhelmshaven, even in this context. 

Of course, your observation still holds true: The job profile of a radar system engineer in high-frequency technology is hardly taught at universities or technical colleges, unfortunately not even at educational institutions of the Bundeswehr, even though the relevant expertise would be particularly in demand here. Therefore, we must invest deeply in the specialized further training of our employees – this is absolutely feasible and worthwhile, and no one, who is sufficiently tech-savvy and interested in the technical matters, should be deterred from it. It's not rocket science.

Former soldiers have proven to be a particularly effective recruiting pool for us, not least because they are already well acquainted with the special administrative conditions that characterize cooperation with the Bundeswehr, and they are familiar with the extraordinary conditions of military operations firsthand. Furthermore, they are distinguished by a special sense of responsibility, which is of course essential in our fields of application – a sense of responsibility that Intersoft is always aware of in all its actions.