Defense alleges that Israeli technology of its great military programs cannot be replaced | Spain

The Ministry of Defense justifies in the lack of technical alternative the great Contracts of armament of the Spanish armed forces with military technology of Israel, so it has no intention of canceling them, contrary to what it has done The Interior Ministry with the purchase of 15 million bullets for the Civil Guard. That is the case of high mobility rocket launches, for 576.4 million; the purchase of 168 Black Missiles Spike LR2, for 237 million; or a laser designator for combat fighters for 207.4 million. In addition, Defense argues that the companies awarded to these contracts are not Israelis but Spanish, although sometimes they are mere intermediaries.

The development of the Silam has been awarded to the company Escribano (EM&E) and Expal, owned by the German to Rheinmettall, who uses the Elbit’s technology, “today not replastible”, according to defense; While the purchase of missiles has been responsible for the firm Pap Tecnos, representative in Spain of Israeli Rafael, also irreplaceable, for defense. These two contracts are still pending formalization, unlike laser designators, which were bought directly from Rafael. When this last program was awarded, in April last year, the General Subdirectorate of Armament and Material Procurement claimed that the Israeli company was « the only technically trained for the development of the project from the technical point of view and improvements of interest have been negotiated. »

On the contrary, the Ministry of Defense paralyzed on November 26 the acquisition of programmer M339 Setter for the 120 mm spolet, after verifying that the company that could be awarded was the Israeli IMI Systems Ltd and no contract was formalized, according to the department directed by Margarita Robles.

Moncloa sources assure that the purchase processes that remain open began before October 7, 2023, the date of the Hamas terrorist attack that triggered the current offensive over Gaza, which has already charged more than 51,000 lives, most of women and children, and adds that “those who are weapons will not be executed”.

This last declaration of intentions could affect the contracts of the Spike and Silam missiles, whose continuity defends defense, and has already been reflected in the suspension of the purchase of 15 million bullets of 9 mm parabellum caliber for the Civil Guard, to the company IMI Systems Ltd. President Pedro Sánchez has ordered to cancel the award, held on April 16, in the middle of Holy Week, before the protests of his Government Coalition Partner, add. According to Moncloa sources, the Interministerial Board that controls the International Trade of Defense and Double Use Material will deny the Import Permit of the ammunition, claiming reasons of general interest, and the Interior Ministry will terminate the contract. The Israeli company has threatened to bring the conflict to the courts and the State Advocacy already prepares the answer.

Spain has awarded 46 contracts to the Israeli military industry for a global value of 1,044,558,955 euros from the start of the war escalation in the Middle East, according to a study of the Delàs Center for Research for Peace based on the data published by the State Contracting Platform. Ten of these contracts, worth about 817 million euros, have not yet been formalized, so the Center for Studies has requested to be canceled.

The company that appears with more contracts in the list is Guardian Homeland Security, with 19, although together they suppose just over three million, while the eight awards to the different divisions of the Elbit Group, some without formalizing, add up to 581.6 million. In several of the awards it is alleged that « the contract can only be executed by a particular economic operator due to the absence of competition for technical reasons. »

Many of these files aim to maintain equipment that are already in service in the Spanish Armed Forces, such as Radioenlace systems, for 3.7 million, hired in January last year; The spare parts for the cardom embarked mortar, for 496,000 euros, of November 2024, both awarded to the Elbit Group, or the Mini Samson Arms Station of the RG-31 armor, in August last year, for 289,256 euros, in charge of Pap Tecnos. But there are also new acquisitions that, according to the Center Delás, can increase the Spanish dependence on the Israeli military industry by generating future maintenance and modernization contracts.

Although most of the awards correspond to the Ministry of Defense (the Army, the Navy, the air bases of Zaragoza and Morón or the UME), other administrations appear in the list. In addition to the Ministry of Interior, with contracts for the Civil Guard and the National Police, State agencies such as the ports of Tarragona and Huelva, dependent on the Ministry of Transportation and Mobility; and even local entities, such as the municipal police of the municipalities of Avilés (Asturias) and Ourense; governed by the PSOE and IU, the first, and by Ourensana democracy, the second.

Many of the contracts correspond to surveillance cameras, night viewers, antibalistic vests or portable radiography systems. There is the circumstance that the company Elbit is the technological partner of the New Tactical Radio of the SCRT Earth Army, endowed with 350 million euros, according to the plan approved last Tuesday by the Council of Ministers to reach 2% of the GDP in military spending this year. In the Navantia shipyard in Ferrol (A Coruña), where he has attended this Friday to the sheet of the F-12 frigate (the third of the new F-1110 series), the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has expressed the commitment of her department to the generation of employment associated with the defense industry. Sources from your department underline that the construction of the five new ships will generate 1,300 direct jobs and almost 6,000 indirect.

The Israeli government has reacted hard before the cancellation of the contract to supply 15 million bullets to the Civil Guard. « Israel firmly condemns the Spanish government decision to unilaterally break a contract signed with the company IMI Systems and its announcement that you will refrain from future defense agreements with Israeli companies, » A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry declared on Thursday. « The Spanish government is sacrificing security considerations for political ends and continues to be on the wrong side of the history against the Jewish state that is defending terrorist attacks on seven fronts, » he added. Israel keeps her embassy in Madrid vacant since May last year, when she called consultations with her ambassador in protest of the recognition of the Palestinian State by the Spanish Government.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has not directly answered Israel but, through the social network X, has returned to claim this Friday the cessation of Israeli attacks. « Israel’s military operations continue to cause death in Gaza and the West Bank. Thousands of civilians, women, children, humanitarian workers. The entry of humanitarian aid has to be immediate. I demand access to food and medicines, » he said. « Because of the most elementary humanity, we must end war and achieve the solution of two states. We do not resign ourselves to violence. Peace is possible. The high permanent fire and the release of hostages cannot be delayed, » he added.