The Spanish defence industry begins preparations to attend the 3rd International Defence and Security Fair in Madrid en masse

Eleven months to jump from Eurosatory 2022 to Feindef 2023

photo_camera PHOTO/ELS - With the presence of the Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce, the Director General for Armaments and Material, Admiral Aniceto Rosique, and national executives, Spain Day was celebrated at Eurosatory on 14 June.

The largest European exhibition dedicated to the land and airmobile defence industry, Eurosatory, has just closed its doors at the Villepinte exhibition centre, just a few kilometres from Paris.

During five intense days, from 13 to 17 June, and in a context of "great opportunities and better expectations", in the words of the executive president of Tecnobit, Lluís Furnells, more than 1,700 companies from 62 nations have attended a show in which 23 Spanish companies have shown high-tech products, the potential of their projects and the strength of their international alliances.

The Eurosatory 2022 International Defence and Security Exhibition was inaugurated by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, who, like all his predecessors, is well aware that the sustainability of the French arms industry in its land, naval and aerospace aspects depends on exports. 

PHOTO/Elisée - El presidente Emmanuel Macron inauguró el Salón Internacional de Defensa y Seguridad Eurosatory 2022. Al igual que sus antecesores, sabe que la sostenibilidad de la industria francesa de armamento depende de la exportación

France's highest political authorities, headed by the President of the Republic, are the main promoters of an industrial fabric that is an instrument of the influence that the Elysée Palace projects on the world. The sector supports hundreds of thousands of direct, well-paid jobs and is a major source of income for the nation's technological sovereignty. With a turnover of 28 billion euros in 2021, France is the world's third largest arms exporter.

The Spanish executives who attended Eurosatory are now back, taking stock of the alliances they have consolidated, the agreements they have closed or have in the pipeline. In short, they are analysing the results obtained. Now they are preparing for their biggest and most important event, which is 11 months away. It will take place in Madrid and is the 3rd International Defence and Security Fair, FEINDEF, which, with the support of the Ministry of Defence, will be held from 17 to 19 May 2023 at the Institución Ferial de Madrid (IFEMA).

PHOTO/ELS - A la edición de 2022 han acudido 23 compañías españolas, que han mostrado sus productos de alta tecnología, el potencial de sus proyectos y la firmeza de sus alianzas internacionales. En imagen, el stand de Uro, fabricante de vehículos tácticos
The ambitious objectives set by FEINDEF 2023

The organisers of the 2023 FEINDEF fair have incorporated important new features and are aiming to make significant leaps forward. The main one is to substantially increase the number of exhibitors: to exceed the 300 exhibitors at the 2021 show and reach 450, which means an increase of 50%. With this forecast, the exhibition area of the fair will be increased to 38,000 m², which means occupying two complete pavilions, 8,000 m² more than in 2021.

Every effort will be made to have two outdoor exhibition areas. One for companies and official institutions to conduct dynamic demonstrations of unmanned aerial vehicles and systems. The other to house a static display of large-scale weaponry and equipment. Both types of outdoor esplanades are common in similar events outside Spain. In Madrid, it has encountered objections but is in the process of being resolved.

PHOTO/ELS - Escribano E&M exponía sus nuevas torretas para control remoto de armas para uso terrestre, naval y aéreo, sus sistemas optrónicos de observación, seguimiento y vigilancia y sus kits de guiado de proyectiles y cohetes

A dedicated space will be created for emerging technology companies or start-ups, where they can present their projects and showcase their capabilities. Other achievements are that 20 percent of the stands will be made up of companies from third countries and that the number of national pavilions will increase. It is also hoped that the number of 75 official international delegations will be exceeded and that the 19,000 visitors to the event two years ago will be more than 19,000.

The themes and content of Eurosatory and FEINDEF are similar, but both fairs are a long way apart in terms of quantity and quality. What have Spanish businesspeople brought to the show in the French capital? A brief review of their stay in Paris shows that they have taken advantage of it to hold bilateral meetings with their foreign partners and to hold meetings with companies from third countries, in search of new alliances with which to tackle projects of common interest.

This is the case, among many others, of Javier Escribano (Escribano E&M); Ignacio Mataix (Indra); Luis Furnells (Tecnobit); Diego Fernández (Arquimea); Rafael Orbe, Director of Defence of SENER Aerospace; Joaquín Jiménez (Integra); Ricardo Martí Fluxá and Gerardo Sanchez Revenga, presidents of the associations TEDAE and AESMIDE, respectively; and Ricardo Domínguez, president of Navantia.

PHOTO/ELS - El presidente de AESMIDE, Gerardo Sánchez Revenga, conversa con la secretaria de Estado de Defensa, Amparo Valcarce, y el general Miguel Iborra, sobre la importancia de las PYMES para el tejido industrial español de la defensa
The new Secretary of State for Defence at Eurosatory

What is the reason for the presence of a shipyard such as Navantia at a show that is eminently dedicated to land-based armaments? The state-owned company has shown at Eurosatory 2022 its Ground Exploration and Reconnaissance System (SERT) demonstrator, an initiative that provides all-terrain optronic solutions for target detection, identification and localisation missions, as well as observation and management of ground and air fire support.

In the field of mobility, two companies were also present with their light 4x4 all-terrain vehicles designed to operate in special operations units. Einsa exhibited its Netón, already in service with the Special Operations Command, and Uro its LTV. Both have a removable upper frame for attaching weapons. GMV exhibited its ISNAV navigation and synchronisation system which will equip the 8x8 Dragon Wheeled Combat Vehicles. And the personal computer of the SISCAP program of the soldier of the future, which controls the energy and manages the optronic sensors and visors of the combatant. 

PHOTO/ELS - De regreso de Eurosatory 2022, las empresas españolas como Expal se preparan para su cita en Madrid. Sera en la III Feria Internacional de Defensa y Seguridad, FEINDEF, que se celebrará el próximo mayo en IFEMA

The highest authority of the Spanish Ministry of Defence to make an appearance at Eurosatory was the new Secretary of State for Defence, Amparo Valcarce, who attended the celebration of Spain Day on the 14th. She was accompanied by her Chief of Cabinet, Air Force Major General Miguel Iborra; the Director General of Armaments and Material, Admiral Aniceto Rosique; the Head of the Army Logistic Support Command, Lieutenant General Fernando García y García de las Hijas; and the Head of the Foreign Support Office, General Cesar Sáenz de Santamaría.

Tecnobit has signed an important contract with two Gulf countries at Eurosatory, strengthened its partnership with companies in the Emirates and opened a niche in India. Its compact, lightweight, gyro-stabilised Orison Z-230 high-resolution, continuous zoom camera has attracted the interest of several international customers. Corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Rafael, Saab and Airbus have raised challenges in the fields of encryption, cyber security and embedded electronics to which the company will respond. 

PHOTO/ELS - GMV expuso su ordenador personal para el programa SISCAP del soldado del futuro, que controla la energía y gestiona los sensores optrónicos y visores del combatiente

Arquimea, a very high-tech company specialising in the development of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICS), has presented its BeetleSat Ka-band telecommunications satellite constellation project. In collaboration with the Israeli company NSLComm, it intends to deploy 250 small satellites at an altitude of 700 km and to build the first mass satellite manufacturing plant in Spain.

In the field of ammunition, Expal brought its wide range of projectiles and the Eimos twin-tube mortar mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, which has already been acquired by the Spanish Marines and is being considered by the Army. Instalaza was there with its collection of anti-tank grenade launchers and its new CS70 and reusable C90. Dedicated to the design and manufacture of modular field equipment and CBRN protection equipment, the company i-4S showed its tents for camps and command posts. SCR offered its Scrab family of turbo-propelled aerial targets. With cameras and sensors developed by Aresia, they become drones capable of surveillance and target identification missions. 

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