Indra Group activates the Spanish Defence Ecosystem to respond to the Defence Ministry's Industrial Plan

Earlier today, Indra brought together over 150 companies, SMEs, startups, research centers, universities, and vocational training centers from all over Spain at its headquarters in Alcobendas in Madrid, with a view to driving the entrepreneurial, technological, and talent-based ecosystem for the defence of the country and preparing it to harness the opportunities for growth provided by the industrial and defence plans that have been launched in Spain and Europe.

Ángel Escribano, the executive chairman of Indra Group, and José Vicente de los Mozos, its CEO, sent out a clear message calling for the unity of Spanish industry to capitalize on “an unrepeatable state of affairs in which the focus of investment has been placed on defence”.  

The event, organized under the title The tractor effect in the Spanish industrial defence ecosystem, was also attended by Lieutenant General Miguel Ivorra, general director of Strategy and Innovation for the Defence Industry, Admiral Aniceto Rosique, general director of Armament and Defence Material,  Jordi Llinares, general director of Industrial Programs for the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, Santiago Novoa, general director of National Corporate Financing, Midcaps and SMEs at the Official Credit Institute (ICO), and  Roberto Trigo, head of the department of Major Scientific Facilities and Dual Programs at the  Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI). 

Over half of the 150 companies and entities that attended the event are, as of today, Indra partners, many of them through the NGWS/FCAS program to develop the future air combat system involving Spain alongside Germany and France, in which Indra has assumed the role of the leading company tasked with defending the interests of Spanish industry by ensuring the greatest possible participation and value. This defence program, one of the most ambitious ever launched on the continent, is an example of the cooperation model that Indra is now seeking to foster.

Indra Group’s executive chairman called on the companies and entities present in the room to adopt a joint posture in order to “capitalize on the opportunities provided by the €800 billion of the EU’s defence plan and the €10.471 billion of the Spanish Ministry of Defence’s Industrial and Technological Plan” and called for the need to “cooperate and develop cutting-edge technologies to forge long-term relationships that strengthen the industrial expansion of the Spanish defence sector”. He declared that “we’ve reached an extraordinary situation; we’ve never had such an excellent opportunity, and only by working together can we achieve the impact we’re looking for”.

However, he recalled that “around 70% of defence spending in Europe goes to non-European suppliers, so it’s of utmost importance to develop our own capabilities”, while he applauded the fact that, in the case of Spain, the Government has set itself the goal of deploying over 80% of the budget of the new industrial defence plan in Spain.

Indra Group CEO José Vicente de los Mozos then addressed the attendees to emphasize that “only by acting together can we address the Spanish Industrial and Technological Plan with the required speed and acquire the scale we need to maximize our presence and leadership in Europe”, stressing the importance of fostering “cooperation and the co-development of technologies and establishing new ways of working that enable us to increase our flexibility, quality and efficiency”.

He spoke of “the cultural change that Indra has been working on as part of the Leading the Future Strategic Plan” and announced that the company is aligning its industrial footprint with the corridors set out in the 2023 Industrial Defence Strategy of the Ministry of Defence, thereby strengthening the backbone effect that the new investment plans will have on the economic activity of the entire country.

He declared that “talent will be the true driving force in this process”, and announced that Indra will generate direct employment estimated at more than 2,000 engineers and 1,000 new operators with technical and technological qualifications over the next two years.

These professionals will work on state-of-the-art technologies with a clear two-fold use, as a result of which their impact on the other sectors of the economy will be much broader, helping to enhance the competitiveness of the Spanish economy and triggering a transformational effect that will place the country at the forefront of Europe.