The defense company Santa Bárbara, a subsidiary of the North American General Dynamics, maintains its legal battle at the National Court against the allocation of a part of the Spanish government's contracts to strengthen the military and defense industry in the State. This Wednesday, the company presented its appeal to the National Court regarding the resolutions that awarded two contracts from the Spanish government's Special Modernization Programs (PEM): the ATP Wheels contract and the ATP Tracks contract, according to company sources. Both contracts amounted to 7.24 billion euros and were awarded to the temporary joint venture formed by Indra and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E).

It has been a business, but also political, outcome that many imagined: the breakdown between France and Germany to move forward with a new European combat aircraft within the framework of the FCAS military program. But the fact that the news has not generated surprise – there had been speculation for some time about the friction between Paris and Berlin around this military project – does not mean that it is not a headache for some. The failure to move forward with this latest generation combat aircraft has left Spain, the other state that is part of the program, trapped. And particularly the defense company Indra.

New crisis in Keir Starmer's government. British Defence Secretary John Healey resigned this Thursday in disagreement with the government's new military investment plan. Healey accuses Downing Street of not being up to the current geopolitical moment and denounces that the Defence Strategic Review plan has been significantly watered down after months of disputes between Number 10, the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury.

The last year at the defense company Indra, whose main shareholder is the State, with 28% of the share capital, has been marked by changes in leadership and a failed operation – the possible merger of Indra with the company Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E Group)–. Regarding all this, and more, were the questions posed this Tuesday in the National Security Commission of Congress to two officials who have been involved in both controversies: Belén Gualda, president of the State Industrial Participations Company (SEPI, the investment arm of the Spanish government), and the director of the Office of Economic Affairs and G20 of the Spanish government, Manuel de la Rocha.

France and Germany have definitively buried a project that foresaw the development and joint manufacturing of a next-generation combat aircraft. It was one of Europe's most ambitious defense programs, valued at 100 billion euros, but discrepancies between the two main partners, Airbus and Dassault, have derailed the project, according to the German newspaper Der Spiegel and the agencies AFP and Reuters, which cite sources from the German government.

Alexia Putellas' departure has overshadowed all the headlines of the past few days due to its emotional significance for the locker room and the fans. Also due to its importance to the club, for which she was another commercial asset. The player from Mollet del Vallès is one of the footballers who sells the most jerseys and represented a great attraction for companies, which helped secure sponsors, as was the case with Leo Messi in his time. 

Indra presents the plan to boost its role in Catalonia. The defense and security company has staged its commitment to the territory with an event organized at the Barcelona Port's Tinglados. The group's new chairman, Àngel Simón, and its CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos, have explained their objectives in Catalonia: to generate 1,500 new jobs and increase their turnover to 550 million euros by 2027. The group currently employs 3,500 professionals and generates sales of 366 million with its 8 headquarters in the territory. Indra's major staging in Catalonia comes just after the arrival of Simón as non-executive chairman of Indra. The former CEO of Criteria inaugurates his public agenda with this Monday's session.

The arms and defense industry is almost nonexistent in Catalonia. The Principality has never strived to play a relevant role in the large contracts of the Ministry of Defense, and the ministry has not been concerned with it being so. The reason: Catalonia has always been a hostile territory for this type of industry, and society has shown its opposition to this sector. No major manufacturer of military equipment has settled there, although some companies have been – and are – linked to it as suppliers.This does not mean, however, that anyone has been interested in growing this sector. “It is an unsatisfied desire”, summarized the researcher from the Delàs Centre Pere Ortega in a report in 2013. Ortega thus referred to the ambition of some companies and politicians to develop this industrial fabric already at that time. Today, more than a decade after the researcher's reflection, and in full European and Spanish rearmament, that desire is more alive than ever and satisfying it does not seem a chimera for those who pursue it: has it gone from taboo to idyll? The cornerstone is the current defense investment cycle: in 2025 alone, the State has mobilized at least 33 billion euros – a Sipri report places the figure at 40.2 billion– to reach 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in defense, and the European Union has also opened the tap through special programs. This contrasts with the spending that has been allocated to the sector in recent years: “We are coming from a drought period,” says a senior executive from a defense company. Furthermore, this is a boom that will not end tomorrow: a voice that has been working in the sector for years estimates that it will last 48 months: “A year has passed and there are three more months of spending growth left.” For this reason, large companies (Indra, Navantia, Airbus, Escribano, or Santa Bárbara) plan to double their turnover by 2030, according to a report by the consulting firm EY published this week.

The Spanish defense and technology company Indra has begun trading on the stock market this Wednesday with an increase, hours after the departure from the shareholding of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) was announced, the company of brothers Ángel and Javier Escribano, who until Tuesday controlled 14.5% of the capital.

A 180-degree turn at the technology and defense company Indra. The Escribano brothers, Ángel Escribano (until recently, president of Indra) and Javier Escribano, have sold their stake in the Spanish defense company. Specifically, the two brothers controlled 14.3% of Indra's share capital through Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing, the company through which they also control their family business, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E), as reported by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). The sale of Indra's share capital comes after Ángel Escribano's resignation as president of Indra this April, precisely as a result of a tug-of-war with the Spanish government (which controls 28% of Indra through SEPI) over the potential acquisition by Indra of his family business, EM&E. Since this April, the new president is the Catalan Àngel Simón, former CEO of CriteriaCaixa. The sale of 14.3% of the share capital also means leaving Indra's board of directors, where they until recently held two seats.

The intentions of the Spanish government to ban social media for under-16s have been very well received in Catalonia. 87% of Catalans - almost 9 out of 10 - endorse this as the minimum age for social media users in all EU countries, according to a survey by the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO) and the European Parliament. The poll, published this Monday to mark 40 years since Spain's accession to the community club, indicates that only 10% of respondents are against the measure, while only 3% do not know or do not answer. Setting a minimum age limit for these platforms convinces even the youngest in the sample, as 84% of those interviewed between 18 and 24 years old are in favor.

The Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, has established dual industry –with applications in the defense and civil spheres– as one of the levers to "generate a transformation of the current labor market", in the face of the employment regulation files (ERE) in Catalonia, such as those of Nestlé, Ficosa, and Nissan.employment regulation files (ERE) in Catalonia, such as those of Nestlé, Ficosa, and Nissan. According to Sàmper, "defense is one of the clearest examples to understand where we are."

The war in the Middle East and the new world disorder driven from the White House by Donald Trump has losers. The biggest losers are the populations suffering bombardments and embargoes and blockades. But there are also those who win. And by a lot. Some are those who play on event prediction platforms, as is the case with Polymarket. And also those who bet on markets based on the unpredictable statements of the US President, Donald Trump. More than one has fattened their portfolio with these plays with a certain aroma of insider information.

Indra, the Spanish technology and defense company in which the State holds 28% of the share capital, looks optimistically to the future. Like any company that engages, among other things, in the military industry, the war in the Middle East can provide a boost to its business, as Indra's CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos, acknowledged this Thursday, coinciding with the presentation of the first-quarter results of the year. "[The war in the Middle East] can only have a positive impact on results," De los Mozos said when analysts asked him about the impact of the armed conflict. The executive linked it, above all, to demands for anti-aircraft defense products – systems and weapons that allow detecting, intercepting, and even neutralizing aerial attacks.

The government of Friedrich Merz has presented Germany's budget for 2027, with a historic figure: Berlin will once again allocate a record amount to the defense budget in a turbulent international context, marked by the war in Iran and also in Ukraine. According to the accounts presented this Wednesday by the Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor, Lars Klingbeil, this year the German state foresees a total expenditure of 543.3 billion euros, 3.6% more than in the 2026 budget, while total revenues will be 398.4 billion euros.

Friedrich Merz's government has presented Germany's budget for 2027, with a historic figure: a record amount will once again be allocated to the defense budget. According to the accounts presented this Wednesday by the Minister of Finance and Vice-Chancellor, Lars Klingbeil, this year the German state foresees a total expenditure of 543.3 billion euros, 3.6% more than in the 2026 budget, and with new debt of 110.8 billion euros. Nevertheless, Merz's government is tightening its belt on the welfare state.

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will attend the annual meeting of the Cercle d'Economia to be held from June 1 to 3 in Barcelona, the first meeting with Teresa Garcia-Milà as president of the institution. This year the central theme will be Europe's strategic autonomy in the context of the war in the Middle East, which adds to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the difficult relations of the Old Continent with the administration of Donald Trump in the United States.

The Ministry of Defense has dismissed the appeal filed by the defense company Santa Bárbara Sistemas, a subsidiary of the North American General Dynamics, against the contracts for the new wheeled and tracked artillery for the Spanish army, which the government of Pedro Sánchez awarded to Indra and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) last year, as reported by the ministry. The artillery contracts amounted to 7.24 billion euros and were part of the Special Modernization Programs (PEM) that the government of Pedro Sánchez approved and awarded last year to increase military spending to 2% of GDP, as committed to NATO. In a statement, the ministry explains that it "agrees to the full dismissal of all claims filed" by Santa Bárbara.

Indra's staff learned this Wednesday who has been president for two weeks, Àngel Simón. Both the Catalan executive and the CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos, have summoned employees and explained the company's situation, where the top management has just experienced an earthquake with the departure of the then-leader, Ángel Escribano. The change of presidency, however, is not presented as a turnaround: "Now we are starting this new phase with Àngel Simón, who also supports the [company's] strategic plan," De los Mozos stated this Wednesday morning, during an appearance at a forum organized by El Español. In fact, he has taken on the executive functions as CEO, not Simón. The executive joined the company in 2023, under the mandate of Marc Murtra.

The State is investing more money than ever in defense. In fact, it had committed to spending 2% of GDP and would have already exceeded it, according to NATO confirmation at the end of February. But when the pie of resources is bigger than ever, the sector is also more tangled than ever. Perhaps precisely because there has never been so much money at stake. "For the last 25 years this has been stagnant and there has been no budget," say a large company in the sector that depends, like the rest, on defense ministry contracts.