Spain exported military material worth 1.976 billion euros in the first semester of 2024, representing a 13% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Shipments to European Union countries accounted for 61% of the total.
Amidst the debate on increasing military spending, the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla, appeared before the Defense Committee of the Congress on Tuesday to report on the statistics of military material exports in 2023 - totaling 3.764 billion euros, an 8% decrease from the previous year - and to provide an update on the first semester of 2024, the most current data available.
López explained that of the 1.976 billion euros Spain invoiced from other countries for defense material exports in the first six months of last year, 70% corresponded to aircraft exports. Additionally, during that period, 14 shipments of pistols and ammunition were denied, all to Cuba, a country under embargo. In all of 2024, there were 16 denials, as reported by the Secretary of State.
Furthermore, in the first semester of last year, Spain exported riot control equipment worth 528,055 euros, a figure "very similar" to that recorded in the same period of 2023. Regarding this police equipment sent to other countries, López emphasized that measures are taken to ensure it is not used in human rights violations, internal repression, or in a manner contrary to human dignity. The main destinations for these riot control product exports were France, Morocco, and Mauritania.
In addition, in the first semester of 2024, Spain invoiced 68.2 million euros from abroad for the sale of hunting and sports firearms, an 8.5% decrease from the same period the previous year. The primary destination for these exports was the United States (61%), followed by the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ghana. Spain denied nine operations to send hunting weapons: seven to Cuba, one to Guinea-Bissau, and one to Venezuela.
For exports of dual-use material - items that can be used for both civilian and military purposes - Spain invoiced 215 million euros in the first semester of 2024. Saudi Arabia, France, and China were the main destinations for these products, mainly consisting of materials for material treatment and chemicals. Spain denied 11 export operations during that period, most of them drones, "due to the risk of diversion to EU-sanctioned countries." Additionally, as the Secretary of State revealed, in all of 2024, 88 shipments of dual-use material were denied, 47 of them destined for Israel.
270 million to UKRAINE and veto to ISRAEL
In her appearance before the Defense Committee of the Congress, López dedicated a special section to information regarding Ukraine and Israel, countries under scrutiny in military matters.
Regarding Ukraine, Spain made 33 defense equipment shipments in the first semester of 2024, totaling 270 million euros. The exported material included several Leopard tanks, armored vehicles, remote surveillance and weapon control systems, protective equipment, radars, and ambulances. Six dual-use material exports were also authorized, amounting to 8 million euros.
Furthermore, a total of 102 licenses were approved for Ukraine, totaling 687 million euros - 38 of them requested by Spanish government agencies. The recipients of the exported defense material were the Ukrainian Armed Forces or their Ministry of Defense.
Regarding Israel, the Secretary of State for Trade highlighted that since 2001, Spain has not authorized any "permanent export of lethal weapons or equipment" to that country, nor items that can be used as riot control equipment.
In this regard, she emphasized, "no new definitive export operation of defense material or dual-use has been authorized since October 7, 2023 [when the Hamas attack occurred] to Israel". "Our position in this case is clear and firm."
As López pointed out, the authorizations issued to that country have been "temporary" and "exclusively for repair and maintenance material, with the end-user being the Spanish Ministry of Defense for the supply and updating of essential systems for the Armed Forces."