Link Securities | According to the newspaper Expansión, aerospace giant Airbus (AIR) has been one of the major beneficiaries, along with INDRA (IDR) and Navantia, of the special modernisation programmes (PEM) launched by the Spanish government.
Under the PEMs, Airbus has secured a contract with the Ministry of Defence to manufacture 18 C295 military transport aircraft, which will replace the current CN235 and C212 aircraft.
These aircraft will be used for the training of pilots and paratroopers of the Air and Space Force. Last October, the company was granted a loan of €1.04 billion for the deployment of this programme, to which another €520 million was added for the Efficient Propulsion Air Mobility Teaching Technologies programme. The helicopter division, for its part, received €2.12 billion in loans for various projects, which will involve a public expenditure of almost €2.24 billion.
Airbus C295s in transport configuration can carry 70 soldiers or 50 paratroopers. These aircraft can take off and land on unprepared runways, drop cargo and paratroopers, and also evacuate casualties. The agreement is divided into two groups: the first will be used for training and transporting passengers, paratroopers and cargo at the Military Air Transport School at the Matacán air base (Salamanca). This order will be delivered between 2026 and 2028. The second part of the contract stipulates that the C295 will be used to drop paratroopers in manual and automatic mode, as well as cargo, between 2030 and 2032.
