The 287.4-million-euro Spike LR2 deal was set to equip Spanish army and marine corps units.
By David Isaac, JNS
Spain’s Ministry of Defense has suspended (though not yet revoked according to JNS sources) a government contract for the purchase of Israeli-developed Spike LR2 anti-tank missiles, a deal valued at 287.4 million euros ($327.4 million).
The contract stipulated that the purchase, to be paid out by 2026, would equip Spanish army and marine corps units, which already employed an earlier generation of the Spike LR.
The contract with Spanish defense firm Pap Tecnos, acquired by Rafael in 2010, involved the supply of 168 Spike LR2 launchers and 1,680 Spike LR2 anti-tank missiles.
The deal was finalized on Oct. 3, 2023, just four days before the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, and sealed on Nov. 23, 2023, after the Israel Defense Forces began its ground invasion, according to Spanish radio station Cadena SER.
At first, Spain’s Defense Ministry said the contract would be upheld because Pap Tecnos was a Spanish company, and there were no alternatives to the Spike system on the market, the Spanish broadcaster reported. (The closest substitute is the U.S. FGM-148F Javelin, a joint project of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.)
Then, in an about-face, the Defense Ministry, led by Margarita Robles, a prominent member of the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, announced the contract would be revoked.
Spain’s Socialist leaders have set themselves squarely against Israel in the current conflict.
In Oct. 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for an arms embargo against Israel. Later that month, Spain cancelled an ammunition purchase for 15 million rounds of 9-mm ammunition from an Israeli firm, a contract worth $7.1 million.
The Defense Ministry sees the cancellation as part of the government’s commitment not to sell to, or buy weapons from, the State of Israel.
Last week, Secretary of State for Defense Amparo Valcarce said Spain was working on “disconnection plans” to reduce “technological dependence on Israel” to zero, Cadena SER reported.
In mid-May, the Spanish government denied the request of a cargo ship, the Marianne Danica, to stop at the port of Cartagena, suspecting that it carried explosives to Israel, the Madrid newspaper El País reported.
It was the first time that the Spanish government had denied authorization to a ship with weapons for Israel, said Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares on May 15.
“This will be a consistent policy with any ship carrying arms to Israel that wants to call at Spanish ports,” he said.
Also last month, Spain denied entry to Marianne Danica‘s sister ship, the Danica Violet, which had come from Haifa, allegedly carrying parts for the Spike system, Cardena SER reported.
Despite Spain’s actions, the Spike family of anti-tank missiles is used worldwide by 43 nations, according to Rafael’s website.
Recently, the Spike User Club held its 20th annual meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia. The group was formed in 2003 by countries utilizing the system to share practical knowledge and experience.