What can Catalonia gain from Sánchez's new defense plan?

Barcelona / MadridDuring the presentation of the plan to achieve 2% of GDP in defense spending on Tuesday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asserted that it would serve to "industrialize" all Spanish territories. However, could Catalonia really benefit from the more than 10 billion euros announced?

The document published by the Spanish government only specifies that 89% of the plan's resources will be invested in Spain. This is approximately €9.319 billion of the total announced. The plan specifies that "economic opportunities will be generated in all autonomous communities through the consolidated corridors," but specifically names the following: the aerospace corridor (Madrid - Seville); the helicopter corridor in Albacete; the land vehicle corridor in Galicia and Asturias; and finally, the naval corridor in Galicia, Cartagena, and Andalusia. Also mentioned are "corridors in the process of consolidation," such as La Plata, which crosses the western peninsula (Asturias, Castile and León, Extremadura, and Andalusia).

Thus, from the outset, Catalonia is not mentioned as a directly benefiting autonomous region: "We don't like music," asserts Junts, adding that this is not what they had discussed with the Spanish government. When Sánchez held the round of contacts, Junts conditioned any support on investment in Catalonia—like the PNV in the Basque Country—unlike Esquerra and EH Bildu, which were wary of any spending increases. However, Sánchez's plan will not have to go through Congress, and therefore, the group will have no direct influence on modifying it. What these Junts sources do emphasize is that they are decisive for any initiative that the Moncloa wants to bring to the lower house. "Catalonia can be and must be included," spokesperson Míriam Nogueras warned at the time.

In the Ministry of Defense's annual reports on the industrial sector, Catalonia does appear in the Central-Mediterranean business corridor, where 699 defense-related production units and €5.7 billion in activity are quantified—with 18,085 employees. Likewise, the Spanish government's plan mentions new hubs industrial-technological sectors in other autonomous communities, and this is where defense sector sources consulted by ARA believe Catalonia could be crippled with resources.

What names are we talking about?

In the Catalan case, attention is focused on everything related to cybersecurity and new telecommunications technologies, where 31% of the plan is expected to be invested (€3.26 billion). "Catalonia has a lot of ground to cover," the same sources point out. Thus, for example, they point to the annual presence of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and the entire business ecosystem surrounding it. or the Deep Tech Summit editions, where artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and theblockchainor quantum technology. In fact, in the case of the MWC, the technology and weapons company Indra participated for the first time in this 2025 edition. Another example of how telecommunications and defense are increasingly going hand in hand is the appearance scheduled for this Monday in the Congress of Deputies by the president of Telefónica, Marc Murtra, to explain the company's plans. telecommunications in terms of security and defense.

Although the plan has barely been presented and, therefore, the road ahead is still long, sources in the defense sector do think of some Catalan names that could take advantage of this shower of millions: Fiscosa and its technology center in Viladecavalls, or Gutmar, in Sant Cugat. The latter, for example, stands out as one of the main companies in the aeronautical sector and supplies Airbus with critical parts for airplanes, helicopters, and satellites. In addition to both, the names of Pangea Aerospace, Satelliot, or GTD, a SME Catalan company specializing in communications and control software engineering, which is already familiar to the Ministry of Defense because it has supplied software and systems to the army.

Some were examples also cited by Junts sources. As explained by AHORA, in this objective of Carles Puigdemont's team to raise money for Catalonia, reference was also made to Zero 2 Infinity, Aistech Space, rebeco SAT, the Armonia group and start-upssuch as Grasshopper Air Mobility and Omnios Cognitive Solutions, among others.

In fact, beyond their experience, an example of how these companies can be strengthened by the increase in public spending on defense is the interest they have generated among investment funds. Hyperion Fund, the investment fund led by former PP president Pablo Casado and dedicated to the defense sector, has just led a €23 million investment in Pangea Aerospace this March; another €10 million in Sateliot and its project to promote a satellite constellation; and, finally, it has purchased, together with Lauria Partners, a part of the family company Gutmar.