The Spanish Army aims to reduce the procurement cycle for weapons and equipment to about two years in order to speed the delivery of new capabilities to its units. The Army Logistics Support Command (MALE) is seeking to shorten the time spent defining, contracting, evaluating, and fielding systems, while keeping procedures within public procurement law.
MALE chief Lieutenant General Guillermo Ramírez Altozano outlined the objective during the ninth edition of the Army 35 2E+I Forum, held in Toledo and attended by military representatives, defense and technology companies, universities, and technology centers. The proposal focuses in particular on drafting tender specifications and operational evaluation, two phases identified as key to reducing timelines.
More testing with units
The model places greater emphasis on field experimentation. The Army plans to expand testing with its units and conduct it under conditions close to real combat scenarios, enabling systems to be validated sooner and developments to be adapted more quickly to operational requirements.
MALE is also calling for a closer relationship with industry, based on trust and confidentiality, to gain early visibility into solutions under development and assess them against military requirements. To that end, the forum combines an annual meeting with capability workshops that bring together Army personnel, companies, and universities to address specific needs.
Army Chief of Staff General Amador Enseñat linked the review of processes to accelerating technological change and lessons drawn from the war in Ukraine. He highlighted the widespread use of drones and the proliferation of low-cost unmanned systems, arguing for a combination of electronic warfare and other countermeasures rather than relying on a single technology.
The meeting also addressed the needs of Air Defense Artillery, Field Artillery, Signals, and the Legion Brigade for the so-called Possible Force. It also examined the capabilities included by NATO in the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative and the NATO Rapid Adoption Plan, two frameworks incorporated into the discussion on how to transfer technological advances to units more quickly.
