Indra seeks to lead consolidation in Spanish defense industry

Spain’s Indra Sistemas SA said it will focus on its defense and aerospace businesses as part of a new 2030 strategy, seeking to become an international player at a time of increased military spending by European NATO members.

Indra plans to lead consolidation of the Spanish defense industry, Chairman Marc Murtra told analysts during a March 6 presentation in Madrid. He cited the U.K.’s BAE Systems, France’s Thales and Italy’s Leonardo as examples of national defense champions that consolidated their home markets.

European countries have boosted defense spending since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to strengthen their militaries after decades of cost cutting. Purchases of defense equipment by NATO’s European members will rise 7% to 8% a year through 2030, with total procurement of as much as €950 billion (US$1 trillion) over the period, Indra forecasts.

“Europe is entering a new major defense investment cycle after more than 30 years, characterized by a significant shift in focus towards technology, a greater share of defense systems and the expansion of multi-domain capabilities,” Murtra said.

Indra seeks to transform its businesses from national to international, and become “the Spanish multinational of reference” in defense and aerospace, the chairman said. The company wants to become the Spanish coordinator in European land, air and cyberspace programs, and the main defense-system integrator in its home market.

The company has announced a number of cross-border deals in its defense business this year, including a radar joint venture with the Emirati defense-technology company Edge Group, and agreements with Thales and Lockheed Martin to jointly work on defense systems.

The EU has been pushing for consolidation and joint projects in the defense industry, with fragmentation and duplication between national markets estimated to waste billions of euros. The EU’s executive branch on Tuesday proposed a €1.5 billion plan to boost defense production and promote joint military projects among member states.

Indra is already involved in multinational European projects including the Future Combat Air System, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the A400M freighter.

“Some of our NATO allies within Europe, such as the U.K., Italy and France, have already made significant strides in consolidating defense and aerospace sectors,” Murtra said. “This process is crucial to achieve strategic autonomy in Spain, and to guarantee its influence at the global scale. With our strong positioning and capabilities, we aspire to lead the Spanish national ecosystem in less than 10 years.”

Spain’s defense budget is expected to outpace Europe, rising 11% to 12% a year to reach a target of 2% of GDP by 2030, Indra projects.

The company expects its defense sales to grow 42% organically over the next three years to €1.1 billion, excluding the contribution from acquisitions. Defense currently accounts for about a fifth of the company’s revenue.

Indra projects overall sales of €6 billion in 2026, including €700 million added through mergers and acquisitions. The company plans tol allocate more than 75% of its acquisition spending to defense and aerospace, with a focus on Spain, Western Europe, the Middle East and North America.

The company said it will concentrate M&A activity in its defense business on bolstering capabilities in the land domain, developing home markets in Western Europe and strengthening its business in sensors, avionics and counter unmanned aerial systems, or C-UAS.

Indra is simplifying its defense-product portfolio, moving more than 100 customized products into six technology categories, including radar, electronic defense, as well as command, control, computing and intelligence, or C3I.

The company is also setting up a new space division that will serve the defense and air-traffic management segments, with a goal of €1 billion in revenue by 2030. Indra wants to become a tier-one European player participating in the continent’s main space programs, Murtra said.

“Space is a segment that is becoming more and more relevant in Europe to guarantee its strategic autonomy and sovereignty over communications,” Murtra said “Satellite communications are becoming mission critical for governments in both both defense and non-defense applications.”

Indra will seek one or more shareholders for its information-technology business Minsait, though Murat said he plans to keep a “significant stake” in the unit, because of synergies with the defense and aerospace businesses.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

西班牙 Indra Sistemas SA 表示，作为一项新的 2030 年战略的一部分，该公司将专注于国防和航空航天业务，力求在欧洲北约成员国增加军费开支之际成为国际参与者。

3月6日，Indra集团董事长马克·穆尔特拉在马德里向分析师发表讲话时表示，Indra计划引领西班牙国防工业的整合。他以英国的BAE系统公司、法国的泰雷兹公司和意大利的莱昂纳多公司为例，指出这些国防巨头都成功整合了各自的国内市场。

自2022年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，欧洲各国纷纷增加国防开支，以加强其军事实力，此前数十年，欧洲各国一直削减军费开支。英德拉预测，到2030年，北约欧洲成员国的国防装备采购量将以每年7%至8%的速度增长，在此期间，采购总额将高达9500亿欧元（1万亿美元）。

“欧洲在经历了 30 多年的低迷之后，正进入一个新的重大国防投资周期，其特点是重点显著转向技术，国防系统占比更高，以及多领域能力的扩展，”穆尔特拉说。

英德拉集团董事长表示，公司致力于将业务从国内拓展至国际，成为西班牙国防和航空航天领域的“标杆跨国企业”。公司希望成为欧洲陆地、空中和网络空间项目的西班牙协调者，以及本土市场主要的国防系统集成商。

今年，该公司宣布了多项国防业务的跨境交易，包括与阿联酋国​​防技术公司 Edge Group 成立雷达合资企业，以及与泰雷兹和洛克希德·马丁公司达成协议，共同开发国防系统。

欧盟一直致力于推动国防工业的整合与联合项目，因为各国市场之间的分散和重复建设预计将造成数十亿欧元的浪费。欧盟执行机构周二提出了一项15亿欧元的计划，旨在促进国防生产，并推动成员国之间的联合军事项目。

Indra 已经参与了多个欧洲跨国项目，包括未来作战空中系统、欧洲台风战斗机和 A400M 货机。

穆尔特拉表示：“我们在欧洲的一些北约盟国，例如英国、意大利和法国，已经在巩固国防和航空航天领域方面取得了显著进展。这一进程对于西班牙实现战略自主，并确保其在全球的影响力至关重要。凭借我们强大的地位和能力，我们力争在不到10年的时间里引领西班牙国家航空航天体系。”

因德拉预测，西班牙的国防预算预计将超过欧洲平均水平，每年增长 11% 至 12%，到 2030 年达到 GDP 的 2% 的目标。

该公司预计，未来三年其国防销售额将实现42%的内生增长，达到11亿欧元（不包括收购带来的贡献）。目前，国防业务约占该公司总收入的五分之一。

Indra预计2026年总销售额将达到60亿欧元，其中包括通过并购实现的7亿欧元增长。该公司计划将超过75%的收购支出用于国防和航空航天领域，重点关注西班牙、西欧、中东和北美市场。

该公司表示，将把国防业务的并购活动集中在增强陆地领域的能力、发展西欧本土市场以及加强其在传感器、航空电子设备和反无人机系统（C-UAS）方面的业务。

Indra 正在简化其国防产品组合，将 100 多种定制产品归入六个技术类别，包括雷达、电子防御以及指挥、控制、计算和情报 (C3I)。

该公司还在筹建一个新的航天部门，服务于国防和空中交通管理领域，目标是到 2030 年实现 10 亿欧元的收入。穆尔特拉表示，Indra 希望成为参与欧洲主要航天项目的一流欧洲企业。

“太空领域在欧洲的重要性日益凸显，它对于保障欧洲的战略自主权和通信主权至关重要，”穆尔特拉说，“卫星通信对于各国政府而言，无论是在国防领域还是非国防领域，都正变得至关重要。”

Indra 将为其信息技术业务 Minsait 寻找一个或多个股东，但 Murat 表示，由于与国防和航空航天业务的协同效应，他计划保留该部门的“相当大股份”。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。