Spain's Minister of Defence visits Indra's Specialised Defence Centre in Vigo

Spain's Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, and the Secretary of State for Defence (SEDEF), Amparo Valcarce, visited Indra's Specialised Defence Centre in Vigo, a high-tech facility where some of the most demanding and cutting-edge projects currently underway in Europe are being carried out, which are of vital importance for ensuring the capabilities of the Spanish Armed Forces and other allied armies. 

The CEO of Indra Group, José Vicente de los Mozos, showed the minister and the SEDEF the cutting-edge projects being undertaken at these facilities. 

De los Mozos highlighted that ‘this centre has a team of 70 highly specialised professionals, who are part of the 1,600 professionals that the company has in Galicia, where we have eight work centres and a presence in all provinces’. The company carries out both civil and military projects in this area, contributing from A Coruña to the digital transformation of public administration and companies in all sectors; providing support to the Navy from the Logistics Centre of Excellence in Ferrol; conducting experimentation and flight tests from Rozas, in Lugo; and working on cutting-edge technologies from its centres in Santiago and Orense. In addition, Indra has provided support to the microchip factory being set up in Vigo, SPARC, after becoming one of its main shareholders. 

During their visit to Indra's headquarters in Vigo, Robles and Valcarce were able to see first-hand the work this team is doing on projects as important as the development of the EU's Strategic Command and Control System, ‘a system that is unique in the world,’ in the words of José Vicente de los Mozos, ‘which will facilitate the coordination of joint military missions involving several EU armies’. 

They also saw how Indra's land and naval electronic defence systems software is being developed and how advanced techniques are being used to optimise radars and electronic defence systems to ensure maximum performance, which translates into greater security and superiority for the Spanish Army in the field. 

In addition, the group's CEO showed the work being carried out in Vigo on the development of the electronic attack system for the new MK1 active electronic scanning radar for Eurofighters, one of the most advanced in the world and key to maintaining the fighter's superiority in the coming decades. They also learned about the evolution of image and radio frequency drone detection systems, which are essential for neutralising attacks by these devices and enabling intervention in modern conflicts.  

José Vicente de los Mozos also highlighted ‘the close collaborative relationship between the Specialised Defence Centre and the University of Vigo, which provides knowledge and top-level professionals that Indra has been incorporating into its team,’ and added that ‘in this way, we offer our young people an attractive career at a high technological level, retaining talent and contributing to the structuring of the territory, aligning ourselves with the industrial corridors defined by the Ministry of Defence’. 

Indra launched the Specialised Defence Centre in Vigo in 2022, which has since grown and become increasingly important, to the point where it is now a key player in the development of state-of-the-art systems. 

Indra is currently working to launch a new Centre of Excellence in Aerospace and Defence Technologies in Vigo. This month, it has signed an agreement with the Vigo Free Trade Zone to move into building 2 of the Vigo TIC Global Hub. 

During the visit, the minister and the SEDEF were accompanied by Indra's Chief Technology Officer, Manuel Escalante, Indra's director in Galicia, José Luis Albo, and the director of Indra's centre in Vigo, Ruth Escarda.