Atlas Elektronik GmbH is a naval/marine

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

and systems business based in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is involved in the development of integrated

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

systems for

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s and heavyweight

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

. The company was a subsidiary of

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

until December 2005, when it was sold to

ThyssenKrupp ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It resulted from the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and E ...

and

EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

.
Atlas Elektronik became a wholly owned subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in 2017.

History

Early history

The company was founded in 1902 as ''Norddeutsche Maschinen- und Armaturenfabrik GmbH'', focusing on shipbuilding and naval engineering services. Its name was changed in 1911 to ''Atlas Werke AG'', the origin of its modern-day name. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Atlas Werke built

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s for the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

. After the war, the company shrank in size and began to focus on civilian technology, due to restrictions imposed by the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

. Following the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, the company grew to become an arms supplier for the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

. Atlas manufactured torpedoes,

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s and

Enigma machine The Enigma machine is a cipher device developed and used in the early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic, and military communication. It was employed extensively by Nazi Germany during World War II, in all branches of the W ...

s, among other things.

After 1945

After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Atlas was rebuilt. The shipbuilding division and other business areas were sold off, shifting the focus solely to marine and defence electronics. Starting in the 1960s, the company switched ownership several times, including several years spent as subsidiary of Friedrich Krupp AG (after 1965) and Bremer Vulkan (1991). In 1992, Atlas merged with ''STN Systemtechnik Nord'', a large defence electronics supplier, into STN Atlas Elektronik GmbH. Five years later, in 1997, STN Atlas was taken over by

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...

(51%) and

(49%). In 2003 STN Altas was split; Rheinmetall acquired the land systems business (Rheinmetall Defence Electronics) and BAE took control of the naval business, keeping the name Atlas Elektronik.

Sale to ThyssenKrupp

BAE Systems announced it intended to sell the company in 2005. The main bidders were

Thales Group Thales S.A., Trade name, trading as Thales Group (), is a French multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence industry, defence corporation specializing in electronics. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide variety of aer ...

and

L-3 Communications L3 Technologies, formerly L-3 Communications Holdings, was an American company that supplied command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( C3ISR) systems and products, avionics, ocean products, training ...

. On December 30 the joint ThyssenKrupp/EADS bid, valued at €145 million (£100m), was named the winner with the companies holding 51% and 49% respectively. The bid was complicated by the requirement of the German government to approve any sale as acceptable. The Financial Times described the sale as "cut price" because the French company Thales bid €300 million, but was blocked from purchasing Atlas on national security grounds.

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus reven ...

announcement sale its remaining shares in Atlas Elektronik to ThyssenKrupp on 12 January 2017. The merge of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Atlas Elektronik was completed on 3 April 2017.

Products

* Submarine systems * Surface combatant systems * Mine warfare systems, e.g. SeaFox ROV for mine disposal * Anti-submarine warfare systems * Maritime security systems * Unmanned vehicles * Naval weapons, e.g. Atlas Elektronik SUT and

DM2A4 DM2A4 Seehecht (export designation "''SeaHake mod 4''" ) is the latest heavyweight torpedo developed by Atlas Elektronik for the German Navy, as a further update of DM2 (Deutsches Modell 2) torpedo which was released in 1976. Description Bei ...

(SeaHake mod 4) heavyweight torpedoes * Marine communication systems * Customer services

Subsidiaries

Hagenuk Marinekommunikation
(Germany)
Atlas Elektronik India

Atlas Elektronik Finland

Atlas Elektronik Canada

Atlas Elektronik UK

Atlas Maridan (Denmark)

Atlas North America

Anec Korea (South Korea)

Sonartech Atlas (Australia)

Atlas UAE
The group also includes the associated subsidiarie
Cybicom Atlas Defence
(South Africa) an
Advanced Lithium Systems
(Greece)

References

External links

ATLAS Elektronik GmbH Company Homepage
{{Authority control Companies based in Bremen (city) Defence companies of Germany History of Bremen (city) Manufacturing companies based in Bremen (state)