Spain’s Indra Sistemas SA said it should give attention to its defense and aerospace businesses as a part of a brand new 2030 strategy, in search of to change into a world player at a time of increased military spending by European NATO members.
Indra plans to guide 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 many years of cost cutting. Purchases of defense equipment by NATO’s European members will rise 7% to eight% a 12 months through 2030, with total procurement of as much as €950 billion (US$1 trillion) over the period, Indra forecasts.
“Europe is entering a brand new major defense investment cycle after greater than 30 years, characterised by a major shift in focus towards technology, a greater share of defense systems and the expansion of multi-domain capabilities,” Murtra said.
Indra seeks to rework its businesses from national to international, and change into “the Spanish multinational of reference” in defense and aerospace, the chairman said. The corporate desires to change into the Spanish coordinator in European land, air and cyberspace programs, and the fundamental defense-system integrator in its home market.
The corporate has announced plenty of cross-border deals in its defense business this 12 months, including a radar three way partnership 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 within 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 spice up defense production and promote joint military projects amongst member states.
Indra is already involved in multinational European projects including the Future Combat Air System, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the A400M freighter.
“A few of our NATO allies inside Europe, corresponding to the U.K., Italy and France, have already made significant strides in consolidating defense and aerospace sectors,” Murtra said. “This process is crucial to attain strategic autonomy in Spain, and to ensure its influence at the worldwide scale. With our strong positioning and capabilities, we aspire to guide the Spanish national ecosystem in lower than 10 years.”
Spain’s defense budget is anticipated to outpace Europe, rising 11% to 12% a 12 months to succeed in a goal of two% of GDP by 2030, Indra projects.
The corporate expects its defense sales to grow 42% organically over the subsequent three years to €1.1 billion, excluding the contribution from acquisitions. Defense currently accounts for a few fifth of the corporate’s revenue.
Indra projects overall sales of €6 billion in 2026, including €700 million added through mergers and acquisitions. The corporate plans tol allocate greater than 75% of its acquisition spending to defense and aerospace, with a give attention to Spain, Western Europe, the Middle East and North America.
The corporate said it should concentrate M&A activity in its defense business on bolstering capabilities within 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 greater than 100 customized products into six technology categories, including radar, electronic defense, in addition to command, control, computing and intelligence, or C3I.
Space division
The corporate can also be establishing a brand new space division that can serve the defense and air-traffic management segments, with a goal of €1 billion in revenue by 2030. Indra desires to change into a tier-one European player participating within the continent’s fundamental space programs, Murtra said.
“Space is a segment that’s becoming an increasing number of relevant in Europe to ensure its strategic autonomy and sovereignty over communications,” Murtra said “Satellite communications have gotten mission critical for governments in each each defense and non-defense applications.”
Indra will seek a number of shareholders for its information-technology business Minsait, though Murat said he plans to maintain a “significant stake” within the unit, due to synergies with the defense and aerospace businesses.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He began his profession at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.