The Direction Générale de l’Armament (DGA), acting on behalf of the governments of Spain, Germany and France, has formalized the contractual amendment permitting Spanish industry’s full integration into Phase 1A Technology Demonstrators activities of the NGWS/FCAS project, which was initially launched by France and Germany on February 20, 2020.

A few weeks earlier the DGA had formalized another contractual amendment to incorporate Sensors Pillar activities, which didn’t form part of the initial launch, into this Phase 1A contract.

With these two Phase 1A modifications, the industrial leaders appointed in Spain by the Ministry of Defense are to be integrated in the following manner, with Indra as the national coordinator:

• In the Next Generation Fighter Pillar, led by Dassault Aviation, Airbus D&S SAU is the Main Partner alongside Airbus D&S GmbH.
• In the Engine Pillar Safran Aircraft Engines is the Main Contractor, with ITP Aero and MTU Aero Engines as the Main Partners.
• In the Remote Carriers Pillar, led by Airbus D&S GmbH, SATNUS (a consortium comprising GMV, SENER Aeroespacial and TECNOBIT) is the Main Partner alongside MBDA.
• In the System of Systems/Combat Cloud Pillar, led by Airbus D&S GmbH, Indra is the Main Partner alongside Thales.
• In the JIPC/SIMLAB (Joint Inter-pillar Consistency/Simulation Laboratory) Pillar Indra is a Co-Contractor alongside Dassault and Airbus D&S GmbH.
• In the Sensors Pillar Indra is the Main Contractor, with Thales and the German FCMS as the Main Partners.
• In the ELOT (Low Observable Technologies) Pillar Airbus D&S SAU is the Main Contractor, with Dassault and Airbus D&S GmbH as the Main Partners

This achievement follows on Spanish industry’s incorporation back in June this year into the Joint Concept Study (JCS), launched by France and Germany in February 2019. The contract positions Indra as a co-contractor together with Dassault and Airbus GmbH and Airbus SAU as the technical manager of a large number of the work packages.

Spain will thus hit the ground running, joining France and Germany in all the activities and taking part on an equal footing in all program decisions, ensuring its participation in the tasks with the highest value.

For several months Spanish industry has been working with its sights set on phases 1B and 2, which will extend the project up to 2027. The negotiations are making good progress within a climate of cooperation between all its partners and with the aim of ensuring the project is a European success story.

The Ministry of Defense’s commitment and its determination to turn the NGWS/FCAS into a State Project represents a turning point for Spanish industry, which will take part in the initial stages of the development and demonstration of new technologies onwards, subsequently allowing the design, development and production of what, by 2040, is set to be the most ambitious defense program ever launched on the continent.

It is a strategically important project that will represent a true technological revolution and enable Spain’s industries to compete on equal terms with other European companies. It opens up a stage of intensive research and development work on next-generation, future-defining technologies of a dual, civil and military nature. It will also call on the participation of companies and research centers throughout Spain.

In the Remote Carriers Pillar, led by Airbus D&S GmbH, SATNUS (a consortium comprising GMV, SENER Aeroespacial and TECNOBIT) is the Main Partner alongside MBDA.