End-of-year procurement marathon for new weapons systems for Spanish Armed Forces
At the gates of 2024, in just three days, the Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce, has run a kind of marathon to contract a motley collection of weapons systems and equipment, which leave consolidated and firmly on track half a dozen programmes for the benefit of the Spanish Armed Forces and the national defence industry.
From 19 to 21 December, Minister Margarita Robles' head of armaments and materiel policy marched briskly through the corridors and halls of Paseo de la Castellana 109 in Madrid, the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, to sign off on purchases included in the 2023 State Budget. These are contracts already authorised by the Council of Ministers, in some cases since last spring, which cover relevant shortfalls in the Army, Air Force and Navy.
The potpourri of acquisitions began on Tuesday, 19 December, with the signing by the Secretary of State for Defence (SEDEF) of a contract worth 600 million euros - 22 million to be paid in 2023 - for the acquisition of 14 SILAMs, an acronym for SIstema de Lanzacohetes de Alta Movilidad, a proposed artillery weapon with high firepower and long range sponsored by the Spanish companies Escribano E&M and Expal.
The SILAM is based on the PULS rocket launcher of the Israeli company Elbit, but with an important contribution of national technology. With a range of between 40 and 300 kilometres, depending on the propulsion and guidance system used in the rockets, the new system will be mounted on IVECO all-terrain trucks produced in Spain.
The contract was signed by Admiral José Luis Urcelay as President of the projectile manufacturer Expal, which is responsible for the materialisation of the rockets. Angel Escribano also signed the contract as president of Escribano M&E, the company that will produce the electronic equipment, the hydraulic and mechanical structures and will carry out the final integration of the system.
A non-stop day
On Wednesday, 20 December, Amparo Valcarce signed her name again, but this time on three engagements, one with María Durán, the Spanish director of MBDA, the leading European missile manufacturer. One with María Durán, the director in Spain of MBDA, the main European missile manufacturer. What for? A contract with a spending ceiling of 325 million euros, which involves the purchase of more than 500 Mistral 3 short-range anti-aircraft missiles and the improvement of firing positions in different configurations in the army, air force and navy.
The Council of Ministers authorised the purchase in April, eight months ago. The Mistral 3 is a critical immediate defence capability for all three military branches. With a range of around 8 kilometres, they offer low-level protection against aircraft, drones and turbojet missiles, both day and night.
On the same 20 December, the SEDEF also signed the execution order with the state-owned company Navantia for the development and construction of two hydrographic vessels, which was given the green light by the Council of Ministers in the spring. With a displacement of 900 tonnes and a length of 47 metres, their main mission is to produce and maintain the State's nautical cartography of Spanish waters and coasts, as well as to provide geographical, environmental and meteorological information and to protect the underwater archaeological heritage.
The president of Navantia, Ricardo Domínguez, assigns the manufacturing process to the shipyard in San Fernando (Cádiz), thus ensuring its workload for the coming years, as is already the case with the shipyard in Ferrol (Galicia), with the five F-110 frigates, and the shipyard in Cartagena (Murcia), responsible for the S-80 submarines.
And finally, also on 20 December, the acquisition of the 16 Airbus C-295 aircraft required by the Air Force became effective. Together with the flight and mission simulator and the initial logistics support package, the total investment amounts to 1,695 million euros, which was signed by the SEDEF and the head of Airbus Defence and Space, the German Mike Schoellhorn.
The final leg and its preamble
The purchase of 16 C-295s is the result of the combination of two different programmes, one based on the aforementioned aircraft model, which will be manufactured and assembled at the Airbus factory in San Pablo, Seville.
A dozen will be built and equipped in VIGMA configuration, an acronym for VIGilancia MArtima, and will be used in search and rescue missions, which the Council of Ministers approved in June. The other six will be in Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) version. Specialised in anti-submarine warfare, they received the green light from the government in September.
The final leg of the year-end marathon ended on 21 December. The SEDEF awarded a firm contract for 30 million euros to the Tess Defence consortium - formed by Santa Bárbara, Escribano M&E, Indra and Sapa Placencia - for the preliminary design and development of the Army's Chain Support Vehicle (CSV), although "for an unspecified number, up to a maximum of 394 units". The contract document was signed by the deputy to the director-general of Tess, General Javier Abajo.
Amparo Valcarce and Indra's CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos, also signed a firm agreement for the acquisition of the second Airbus H135 helicopter simulator for 20 million euros, which replaces the Air Force's Sikorsky S-76C and the Navy's H500. It will be used for the training of the Armed Forces' rotary-wing aircraft pilots.
A week before starting her personal marathon, Amparo Valcarce has already begun her training. It was on Thursday, 12 December, when, together with the Army Chief of Staff, General Amador Enseñat, she received at the GDELS Santa Bárbara facilities in Alcalá de Guadaira (Seville) the first six sapper combat vehicles christened Castor. The series is of 36 and all of them will be delivered during 2024.
The SEDEF marathon began on Saturday, 16 December, and the guest star was the President of the Government. Pedro Sánchez went to the Ferrol shipyard of the state-owned company Navantia to preside over the institutional ceremony known as the "cutting of the sheet metal" of what will be the new F-112 frigate "Roger de Lauria". With a displacement of 6,300 tons and a length of 145 metres, it will be the second warship of the F-110 series, multipurpose escorts with anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-surface capabilities.