Military drones: Spain plans tender worth more than 200 million euros

The Spanish Ministry of Defence intends to put Class I and II military drones out to tender this year, with a budget of more than 210 million euros. This emerges from a report by Infodefensa.

According to the report, the project is part of the ministry’s annual procurement plan. It is managed by the Directorate General of Armament and Materiel (DGAM) through a negotiated procedure with public tender.

The Spanish armed forces had already begun buying drones on a large scale the previous year – for the Army and the Air and Space Force as well as for the Navy. At that time, two tenders were launched for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV): one for Class I Micro rotary-wing aircraft weighing less than two kilograms, another for Class II Mini fixed-wing aircraft with a take-off weight of up to 15 kilograms.

In the first procedure, the choice fell on the X10 drone from US company Skydio; the second is still being evaluated.

Which military drones are in contention

According to Infodefensa, no detailed information is yet available on the specific drone types to be bought under the procurement plan. However, a focus on capable Class I drones in the so-called Small category, weighing up to 120 kilograms, is expected. Here, the Tarsis RPAS from Spanish company Aertec, already in service with the Army, could once again be selected.

For Class II, weighing 150 to 600 kilograms, the report highlights the Sirtap from Airbus; the Ministry of Defence acquired nine systems in early 2024. In some areas, such as range, this drone’s capabilities even exceed those of Class III.

Separately from this project, it emerged a few days ago that the Spanish armed forces have bought 91 Vector drones from German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems for 27 million euros. The number of systems could rise to around 150 in future.