GMV strengthens its position in the international defense and security market

In 2016 the technology multinational GMV clocked up an all-time high in its international security and defense sales; for the first time ever its international sales topped the national figure. This is a particularly eyecatching achievement in the context of budget cuts and worldwide economic uncertainty.

This milestone in the company’s history endorses GMV’s position as an international security and defense benchmark. This position rests on three main pillars: firstly, direct contracting with European agencies; secondly its sales of JISR products (Joint Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and thirdly the company’s participation in R&D programs such as the European Horizon 2020.

GMV now has a longstanding track record of cooperation with international agencies on the strength of contracts won in tenders of open competition. It has been collaborating with the European Defense Agency (EDA) since its creation in 2004. Under the Joint Investment Program in Force Protection GMV was the only European country to win two contracts. With EDA the company has forged even closer bonds in recent years and it is now working for the agency in such important areas as cyberdefense, C2 systems for dismounted soldier and federated mission networks.

In 2010 GMV became the main contractor for the design, maintenance, deployment and evolution of the EUROSUR network for the FRONTEX Agency. The collaboration began with a pilot project and then moved onto a fully-fledged framework contract between the multinational and the Agency.

For the European External Actions Service (EEAS), moreover, GMV is priming the design and development of the European Command and Control Information System (EUCCIS) used by EEAS on its missions outside Europe.

The multinational is also a longstanding collaborator of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) in such activities as studies to pinpoint the user benefits of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in the marine environment or the provision of ICT services. In the area of satellite image processing and remote sensing, GMV is priming a framework contract for SATCEN.

In the JISR area (Joint, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), and as part of Spain’s participation in NATO’s MAJIIC project, GMV is collaborating with diverse NATO organizations as well as MoDs of NATO member countries on both sides of the Atlantic, offering its inhouse Mobile ISTAR Exploitation system (called SEISMO after its Spanish initials: Sistema de Explotación ISTAR Móvil), CSD (Coalition Shared Database), Atenea (IRM&CM Tool) and COLLECTOR (ISR sensor simulator), which pools information from many different sources to provide intelligence analysts with the necessary tools for exchanging ISR information and performing workflows that enable interaction throughout all JISR phases.

International consolidation

GMV features large in European Commission security-research framework programs, especially H2020 and its forerunner FP7. The multinational’s activity centers on the maritime surveillance area by participating in diverse projects such as CLOSEYE (Collaborative evaLuation Of border Surveillance technologies in maritime Environment bY pre-operational validation of innovativE solutions), EUCISE2020 and MARISA (Maritime Integrated Surveillance Awareness).

These activities have all helped to raise GMV’s worldwide security-and-defense profile, winning the company pole position in this sector. Levering Europe’s current drive towards a common security and defense policy, the company’s medium-term plans include consolidating its current strong international position and ensuring its sustained growth into the future.