SAPA participated this week in the UGT conference in Jaén on the New European Defense Policy.

June 26, 2025

The industry assigns homework to the Ministry of Defense. In the midst of a new expansionary cycle, companies in the sector agree that it is essential to convert «expectations» and program announcements into contracts, streamline contracting processes, and ensure a predictable and stable medium- and long-term financial scenario.

These are the three main demands that companies put forward at the opening of the New European Defense Policy conference organized by the UGT-FICA union in Jaén, which brought together the sector’s leading firms and representatives from unions, universities, and the government from Wednesday to Thursday.

Split across two panels, the executives spoke: Raul Blanco of SAPA, José Luis Urcelay of Rheinmetall Expal Munitions, Ricardo Domínguez of Navantia, Josep Aracil of Inetum, Manuel Cutrín of Isdefe, and Manuel García Sañudo of FMG. The mayor of Jaén, Julio Millán, and the rector of the University of Jaén, Nicolás Ruiz, also participated.

The debate allowed for some conclusions and shared messages. Companies agreed on the commitment to technology and the development of their own capabilities to guarantee the autonomy and sovereignty of Spain and Europe in an uncertain geopolitical context, and they identified talent as a major challenge, not only at the engineering level but also in the field of dual vocational training. «The way forward is to develop talent, not fight among ourselves.»

The sector also emphasized the idea that defense solutions have long design and technological development cycles, which require sustained funding and continued investment.
The companies also defended the need to simplify and accelerate contracting processes and administrative procedures, and asked the Administration for certainty regarding the new programs of the Technological and Industrial Plan for Security and Defense.