Spanish defence industry shows off its capabilities at the Eurosatory show in Paris
The International Defence and Aerospace Security Exhibition in Paris, known in the military industry as Eurosatory, boasts of being the most important in the world in this field.
Held every two years from 17 to 21 June at the Paris-Nord de Villepinte Exhibition Centre, 25 kilometres north of the French capital, around 2,000 companies from more than 60 nations will be showcasing their technologies, rising to more than 1,750 by 2022. Some 250 official delegations and more than 60,000 professionals from 150 countries - there were 32,000 visitors in 2022 - are expected to attend, all eager to see the latest ground systems and helicopters with artificial intelligence.
The general increase in defence budgets around the world are reasons for the Spanish business community to flock to the event. There are 46 Spanish companies present at Eurosatory (23 in 2022), most of which are concentrated in the Spanish pavilion organised by the Spanish Association of Defence, Security, Aeronautics and Space Technology Companies (TEDAE). There are 34* -in 2022 there were 18-, "the largest number ever at any edition of Eurosatory", confirms the association's director general, César Ramos.
While the doors of the 2022 show were opened by President Macron without the presence of the Russian arms industry, a sanctioning measure that persists for its illegal invasion of Ukraine, the 2024 edition was inaugurated by its Defence Minister, Sebastien Lecornu. It came in the midst of controversy over the veto of Israeli companies and military industry professionals already registered for Eurosatory, a decision taken on 31 May by the event's organisers.
However, on Tuesday, 18 June, the Paris Commercial Court, in an emergency decision, found that excluding 74 Israeli exhibitors was "discriminatory" and ordered "the suspension of the ban". But, three days before the closing of Eurosatory, it is practically impossible to enforce the ruling, in an edition such as 2024 which, according to a senior Spanish executive present at Eurosatory, "is much more dynamic, bigger and more varied than in previous years".
Examples of the presence of Spanish technology
Among the Spanish companies that have attended the Paris event is the Oesia group, headed by its executive president, Lluis Furnells, who has just ratified a cooperation agreement with the French company Thales. Both multinationals want to cooperatively develop "defence equipment and systems, implement digital transformation and cybersecurity initiatives", as well as collaborate in "maintaining in service" systems operated by different armies.
Oesia has arrived at Eurosatory having just announced that its "contracting in 2023 amounted to 300.5 million euros and that its turnover reached 221.7 million, which multiplies by 1.5 times the results of 2021". The group bases its good results on the "hyper-specialisation" of the five companies that make up the group, on "investing in dual disruptive technologies" and on "consolidating" alliances with companies of the importance of Lockheed Martin, Thales, Indra and Navantia".
Furnells expects to have "strong growth in the coming years, break earnings records and contribute to increasing national sovereignty and European strategic autonomy". The expansion of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering is following a similar path.
Escribano has signed at Eurosatory to explore the integration of its Guardian remote-controlled gun turrets with 30-millimetre cannon with the combat vehicle families of General Dynamics European Land Systems. With Pandur and Piranha wheeled vehicles - more than 12,000 in service in more than 20 countries - and Ascod tracked vehicles, more than 1,000 operational in four nations.
It has also agreed with Thales to "accelerate the joint commercialisation" of Sentinel Rocket, an anti-drone swarm system that integrates its gyro-stabilised turrets with electro-optical cameras with a Thales high-speed rocket launcher, whose shots put 8,000 small steel balls in the air, creating a cloud capable of shooting down aerial objects several kilometres away.
Reinforced institutional representation
EINSA has presented its unmanned vehicle ALANO, an acronym for Autonomous Logistic Assistant to Operational Core, on an international scale. It is a 6x6 traction robotic platform developed together with Sener Aeroespacial and the collaboration of INTA. With integrated cameras and sensors, an autonomy of 10 hours and the capacity to transport up to 650 kilos, it is designed to cover different logistical support needs, including evacuation missions for the injured.
The Fair was the setting for the general director of the Advanced Centre for Aerospace Technologies (CATEC), Joaquín Rodríguez, and the co-founder of B2Space, Víctor Montero, to agree to use the Near Space Testing platform at CATEC's two flight centres to validate components and equipment in environments with conditions similar to those prevailing in the stratosphere. And Aertec is showcasing its work on directed energy weapon technologies and the Tarsis-W, an unmanned aerial system that can be armed with micro-missiles or observation, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment.
With the European defence industrial sector buzzing with expectations of increased investment from Brussels and Madrid, Spanish institutional representation at Eurosatory was much greater than in previous editions. It was chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce, who pointed out that the defence budget is "15,000 million euros per year", and that her department has a "strong investment commitment".
Valcarce was accompanied by the Director General of Armaments and Material, Admiral Aniceto Rosique, and the head of the Army Logistics Support Command, Lieutenant General Fernando Miguel García y García de las Hijas. They were joined by the Spanish ambassador to France, Victorio Redondo; the director general of Economic Affairs, Air Force Quartermaster General José Luis Sánchez; the deputy director general of Programmes, Air Force General José Antonio Gutiérrez; and the deputy director general of International Relations, Rear Admiral José Antonio Toro.
Spain is not the only nation with an official flag. More than 40 countries have also grouped most of their companies in exhibition areas under their national flag. This is the case, for example, of Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the Emirates, the United States, Japan, Norway, Singapore, Ukraine and also China, which has landed in Paris with 64 exhibitors. And if there is a need for dynamic displays with vehicles and simulated firing, Eurosatory has 20,000 square metres of various open-air stages.
*The companies present in the Spanish pavilion are Aertec, Arpa, Arquimea, Aunav, Centum, EINSA, ELS, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering, GMV, Indra, Instalaza, Iraundi, Mades, Marine Instruments, Navantia, NVLS, Sapa, Tecnobit, TSD International, URO, Xubi Group, FM Granada, General Dynamics European Land Systems, Nammo Palencia, Piedrafita, Rheinmetall Expal Munitions and Thales España. There is also a stand from Asturias Hub Defensa, which hosts the companies Idonial, ITS, JP Industrias Mecánicas, Olmar, Seerstems and Verot.