Defence pledges to strengthen the competitiveness and globalisation of the Spanish military industry

1. Supporting the external projection and competitiveness of industry
2. In search of an interactive procurement process

There was great expectation among the several hundred national industry executives and senior military commanders attending the AESMIDE Forum, which commemorates 40 years of existence of the Association of Contracting Companies with Public Administrations, an organisation directed by Gerardo Sánchez Revenga since May 2009. 

Attention was focused on listening to the intervention of Admiral Aniceto Rosique, head of the recently amputated Directorate General of Armaments and Material (DGAM), as well as that of Air Force Lieutenant General Miguel Ivorra, with barely a month at the helm of the new Directorate General of Strategy and Innovation of the Defence Industry, DIGEID.

Although he has not yet been in his new position for 30 days, General Ivorra has a clear advantage in assuming his current duties, having held the position of Director of the Technical Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Defence since July 2020. He has held this post under Esperanza Casteleiro -currently in charge of the CNI- and now under Amparo Valcarce, who has been in the post since May 2022, so he knows in great detail the key aspects linked to armament and material policies, as well as those related to the research, development and innovation programmes that he is now in charge of. 

For General Ivorra, the creation of the organisation he heads represents a strategic step that will have an impact on the opening of new markets and the consolidation of Spain’s presence in existing ones – PHOTO/MDE-ET

In his speech at the AESMIDE Forum, General Ivorra stressed that the task of the new Directorate General is to dedicate itself ‘exclusively’ to the strategic vision, defence industrial policy and the internationalisation of the sector’s industry, with the aim of ‘strengthening international cooperation and increasing external support for the Spanish defence ecosystem’. 

In his opinion, the creation of the new directorate is ‘a fundamental strategic step’ to ensure that Spain continues to be ‘a relevant player in the field of European defence’. In this sense, he agrees with the argument that ‘it is not possible to have a strong defence without a competitive defence industry’, for which innovation and technological transformation are two fundamental pillars. 

Efforts are aimed at helping to strengthen the defence industrial and technological base as a whole, and to achieve a better positioning of our defence industry in the international market – PHOTO/MDE-Marco

Supporting the external projection and competitiveness of industry

In order to build a competitive industrial base and sustain it over time, General Ivorra has set out three lines of action. The first is to ‘anticipate’ the future needs of the Armed Forces, another is to ‘respond’ to the constant effort to maintain an adequate level of security. Of course, ‘leading’ cutting-edge technological projects, to strengthen the capabilities of the scientific, technological and industrial fabric, all aimed at ‘protecting the interests, development and well-being of Spanish society’. 

In line with the recent creation of a Defence and Space portfolio in the European Commission, to better address Spain’s increasing participation in European and NATO collaborative programmes and to respond to the foreseeable progressive increase in the defence budget, General Miguel Ivorra is aware that one of his efforts is to provide ‘strong institutional support for the presence of our industry in international environments and programmes and to increase its competitiveness’.

In essence, the new Directorate General for Defence Industry Strategy and Innovation is focused on ‘supporting innovation and the international projection’ of the industry, which entails ‘opening up new markets and consolidating Spain’s presence in existing ones,’ General Ivorra emphasises. It also involves defining the strategy, the policies that develop it and its planning, with the aim of seeking synergies between civilian and military programmes in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum, nanotechnology, additive manufacturing and advanced materials. 

 The new structure aims to better address Spain’s increased participation in European and NATO cooperation programmes, as well as to respond to the progressive increase in the defence budget – PHOTO/MDE-Iñaki Gómez 

In the words of General Ivorra, the Directorate General he heads is equipped with the human capital and the legal, material and digital instruments to have the long-distance vision provided by ‘binoculars’, with a view to achieving ‘a better positioning of our industry in the international market’. For its part, the DGAM would act as a ‘magnifying glass’, allowing it to observe in greater detail. Its work would focus on ‘providing the weapons systems and equipment required by the armed forces through the implementation of procurement and modernisation programmes’.  

General Ivorra has set himself the goal of getting his organisation ‘fully operational as soon as possible’. He has also set the goal of ‘helping to strengthen the industrial and technological base of defence ‘as a whole‘, which includes SMEs and start-ups ‘to facilitate capillarity throughout the industrial network‘. In order to increase business muscle, its goals also include ‘strengthening the innovative ecosystem’ through close collaboration between the public administration, industry and the scientific and technological community.

Admiral Aniceto Rosique, head of the DGAM, aims to make the procurement process interactive and more agile, so that Spanish companies and technology can achieve the maximum possible strategic autonomy – PHOTO/JPons

In search of an interactive procurement process

Admiral Aniceto Rosique, Director General of Armaments and Material, stated in his opening remarks that the change in the organisational structure of the organisation he has headed since January 2022 ‘has not affected the DGAM’s functioning at all’. Although he then went on to clarify that ‘with the difference that R&D and international programmes will be transferred to the newly created directorate general’. 

In his view, splitting the DGAM’s responsibilities into two organisations, the DIGEID and the DGAM, allows the latter to ‘continue to play its crucial role’. This is none other than ‘to focus on the processes of acquiring, modernising and sustaining weapons systems and equipment to meet the material needs of the Armed Forces, which is our ultimate raison d’être, regardless of the organisational structure that supports them’.

 General Ivorra’s lines of action include anticipating, responding to and leading the future needs of the Armed Forces. In the picture, the Urovesa factory, which manufactures and exports all-terrain tactical vehicles – PHOTO/MDE-Iñaki Gómez

With a DGAM that is ‘saturated, but not blocked’ by having to manage around 250 ongoing programmes, 57 of which are procurement programmes, Admiral Rosique mentioned that the establishment of the Directorate General for Defence Industry Strategy and Innovation will relieve him of a good number of them. Therefore, ‘it reduces bureaucracy, while at the same time speeding up and promoting a better degree of cooperation and co-responsibility between ministries, universities and research centres’. 

He also explained that, for his part, he is trying to make the procurement process ‘interactive rather than sequential’, with a view to making it ‘more agile’, with the main aim of ensuring that Spanish companies and technology achieve the maximum possible strategic autonomy in the procurement process. 

Chaired since May 2009 by Gerardo Sánchez Revenga (pictured), the Association of Companies Contracting with the Public Administrations, AESMIDE, organises an annual forum for dialogue between industrialists and the military – PHOTO/JPons

Second priority is procurement on the European stage. Thirdly, if there are no national or European capabilities that meet the Staff Requirements defined for a weapons system, ‘there is no choice but to buy from outside’, although ‘every effort is made to ensure that this is sustained by national companies’, he said.  

The AESMIDE 2023 Forum was opened by the Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce, who did not anticipate the economic volume of its possible budgets for 2025, should the current ones not be extended. In addition to senior executives from the sector, the event was attended by the Air and Space Chief of Staff, General Francisco Braco; the President of the Defence Committee of Congress, Alberto Fabra; the Director General of Economic Affairs, Air Force General José Luis Sánchez, as well as admirals and generals from the Land, Navy and Air/Space Logistics Commands. 

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