The Ministry of Defense is immersed in an ambitious arms purchase plan to modernize the means available to the Spanish Armed Forces. Behind this rearmament is the war in Ukraine, but also the need to recover capacities after years of lean times. The department headed by Margarita Robles wants to launch a dozen large programs that include the acquisition of anti-submarine helicopters, rocket launchers, fighters, armored vehicles, or mortars. In addition, other contracts are already underway to renew, for example, a large part of the missiles in service.
Pending the official launch of the programs, for the moment only the purchase of the Romeo helicopters for the Navy has been approved, the defense industry has taken advantage of the recent International Defense and Security Fair (Feindef) held in Madrid to show its proposals . Attendees have had the opportunity to see solutions such as the Spanish rocket launcher or the Chain Support Vehicle (VAC). Two of the programs that will soon see the light. The fair has also been the showcase for missiles already acquired, such as the Brimstone for the Eurofighter fighters of the Air and Space Army or the NSM anti-ship missile that will be used by the future F-110 frigates of the Navy. In addition, material that will enter service soon, such as the Castor sapper combat vehicle, has been exposed.
The rocket launcher has undoubtedly been one of the big stars of the fair. The Spanish companies Escribano M&E and Expal have presented at a joint stand their national proposal for the High Mobility Rocket Launcher System (Silam) program of the Army, based on the PULS system (Precise and Universal Launching System) of the Israeli company Elbit. This development is the great candidate for a project, endowed with 290 million, which seeks to provide the Army artillery with a group of 12 rocket launchers in a first phase.
Defense has also chosen Feindef for the launch of the VAC program, the tracked vehicle that will replace the old TOA of the Army. With a budget of almost 2,000 million, this will be one of the great programs of the next decade. Tess Defense, an industrial consortium that includes Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Indra, Sapa and Escribano, aspires to win this contract with a proposal based on Ascod.
VAC proposal for Tess Defense B. Carrasco’s Army Infodefensa.com
Another project that the ministry is finalizing is the embarked mortar. Although nothing has been signed yet, everything indicates that the one selected will be the Expal 81mm Eimos, also present at the fair. The Secretary of State for Defense herself, Amparo Valcarce, supported this system in an act on the last day of Feindef. Valcarce also announced that the objective is to buy up to 258 units for the Army, the Air and Space Army and the Navy. In the latter it is already in service.
Missiles for air defense and against ships and cars
Those attending the fair have also been able to see and even touch (the models) missiles of all kinds. The Brimstone air-to-surface missile recently acquired by the Ministry of Defense stands out to increase the attack capacity of Eurofighter fighters against ground targets. The purchase is already underway with an initial budget of 43 million euros. Together with this missile, MBDA exhibited the Mistral 3 already in service in the Spanish Armed Forces, of which the ministry is finalizing the purchase of a new batch. In this case, the Ministry of Defense will invest more than 300 million.
Missile Brimstone de MBDA B. Carrasco Infodefensa.com
Not far away Norway’s Kongsberg has shown off its Navy-selected NSM anti-ship missile. Defense is preparing a 125 million contract for the acquisition of this system that also has ground attack capacity. The manufacturer is already in contact with the national industry to produce certain components on Spanish soil. The fair has also served to learn more about the Spike LR2 program, the most mature in the missile section. Pap Tecnos, in charge of the consortium that will manufacture this missile in Spain, has presented the industrial plan in which four other Spanish companies participate: Escribano, Expal, Tecnobit and FMG (Granada Ammunition Factory). The Ministry of Defense announced that the program will be approved shortly by the Council of Ministers. The plan is to buy 1,680 missiles and 168 firing points for 287 million.
Armored vehicles, helicopters…
One program that is still in an early phase is the replacement for the Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) of the Marine Corps. However, at the fair it was possible to see the vehicle that the Navy wants, the ACV (Amphibious Combat Vehicle) from BAE Systems and IVD, selected by the United States Marine Corps. Both companies have shown this platform for the first time outside the United States, specifically the personnel transport version.
Also present at Feindef was the MH-60R helicopter, recently acquired by Spain to replace the SH-60B of the Navy. The device on display belonged specifically to the HSM-79 Helicopter Maritime Attack Squadron of the US Navy located at the Rota naval base. The Ministry of Defense will buy eight Romeos for an amount of 820 million euros.
US Navy MH-60R Romeo helicopter in Feindef B. Carrasco Infodefensa.com
The attendees also had the opportunity to see the first serial unit of the Spanish Army’s Castor sapper combat vehicle (VCZ). The manufacturer GDELS-SBS has brought to the fair. After some delays, the program contemplates the supply between this year and next of 36 units. replace the SH-60B of the Navy. The vehicle incorporates a series of implements for sapper work such as a shovel, countermine plow, countermine roller or gap marker and is equipped with a 12.70 mm Mini Samson Rafael remote turret. It can carry up to nine crew members, including the driver.
The absent F-35, Ukraine very present
The one that has not been in Feindef has been the F-35. Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the fighter, has only presented a demonstrator of the combat aircraft at its booth at the fair. Despite the clear interest of the Navy in this fighter, neither the manufacturer nor the Ministry of Defense have wanted to give prominence to the F-35. The Navy includes among its medium-term needs the arrival of version B (vertical takeoff and landing) to replace its Harrier veterans that operate from the LHD Juan Carlos I, at the end of its operational life.
Demonstrator of the F-35 B. Carrasco Infodefensa.com
On the contrary, the war in the Ukraine has been very present; in the speeches and also in the proposals of the industry. In fact, delegations from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the ambassador to Spain have been seen in the corridors of the fair in search of opportunities. The conflict has revalued the figure of the tank and has popularized the use of drones, especially armed ones. And this has been noticed at the fair. Santa Bárbara Sistemas has shown its light tank with a 105 gun, based on its Ascod platform. A version that is already in service in the Philippines. Among the industry proposals, the Arquimea loitering ammunition or the Tarsis-W drone armed with Aertec micro-rockets also stand out.
