Indra unveils its third factory in the northern defence corridor in As Pontes, with capacity to produce 80 military vehicles a year

Indra Group CEO Josep Maria Recasens today unveiled the company's new military vehicle production plant at an official ceremony in As Pontes, in the province of A Coruña, Galicia. The facility will be set up in record time and will begin operating next year.

Speakers at the event included the President of the Galician Regional Government, Alfonso Rueda; the Galician Regional Minister for Economy and Industry, María Jesús Lorenzana; the Spanish Government Delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco; and the Mayor of As Pontes, Valentín González.

Josep Maria Recasens, CEO of Indra, thanked the Galician Regional Government, Spanish Secretary of State for Defence and the authorities for their support, stressing that “Spain's defence sector is fragmented and small compared with its European counterparts, but we are going to change that because we want to compete in the Champions League. To achieve this, we will draw on the entire business and industrial ecosystem, with programmes in which up to 70% of the work is entrusted to our partners, and next-generation factories such as this one in As Pontes, which will be among the most competitive in Europe”.

The President of the Galician Regional Government, Alfonso Rueda, said that “today marks the culmination of a long process as Indra establishes its presence in As Pontes”, adding that “we must seize the opportunities and harness the capabilities we have in an increasingly competitive world. All of this will help create wealth, industry and jobs, retain the local population and look to the future”.

Indra, which has just acquired the As Pontes site, plans to prepare it in record time, with the aim of starting to integrate the Spanish Army's bridge-laying vehicle (VLP) at the plant in just a few months.

In a second phase, the plant will also begin integrating amphibious combat vehicles for the Spanish Marine Corps (VACIM), with wheeled self-propelled artillery vehicles (ATP Ruedas) joining production in 2029. Output is expected to reach 80 vehicles a year once the plant achieves its optimum production level.

The company will invest €18 million in preparing the 52,872-square-metre site, which has a built-up area of 13,730 square metres.

Once operational, the plant will create between 70 and 120 highly skilled direct jobs in Galicia, in addition to those generated throughout the supply chain on which it will rely.

The factory will have three parallel vehicle assembly lines, an indoor storage area and electronics workshops for work on the systems to be integrated into the platforms. Outside, it will feature 5,200 square metres of painting and testing facilities, a vehicle test track covering almost 15,000 square metres and a 7,000-square-metre outdoor area for storing vehicles.

Among the models to be manufactured, the bridge-layer is a highly mobile, ten-wheeled tactical vehicle designed to deploy a 24-metre bridge, enabling tanks, armoured vehicles and trucks to cross gaps and trenches in the terrain. Indra will produce a total of 32 VLP systems for the Spanish Army, each comprising a primary vehicle and an auxiliary vehicle.

The amphibious combat vehicle for the Spanish Marine Corps is based on the SUPERAV 8x8 platform from IDV, a Leonardo Group company. This state-of-the-art platform features a seaworthy hull, enabling 10 soldiers and three crew members to land from 12 miles offshore in adverse sea conditions and operate with a high level of protection in the area of operations. Indra will deliver a total of 34 vehicles, although the first units will be manufactured in Italy before production is transferred to Spain.

Finally, the wheeled self-propelled howitzer (ATP Ruedas) is a rapidly deployable, ten-wheeled vehicle equipped with a 155 mm/52-calibre gun offering high accuracy and a high rate of fire, with a range that can exceed 56 kilometres. The company will deliver 186 vehicles of this type in howitzer, ammunition resupply and recovery variants.

Talent, proximity to the customer and the industrial ecosystem

Indra chose As Pontes for its new factory because of the town's strong industrial tradition, its specialised and highly experienced workforce and its proximity to the Ferrol Naval Arsenal, which facilitates close customer relations and joint work. The universities of A Coruña and the rest of Galicia also offer the talent the company needs to develop this project. All these factors help accelerate delivery: proximity to the customer speeds up final product validation; the industrial ecosystem streamlines procurement; and local talent supports training and the quality of the finished product.

The As Pontes plant will also become part of Indra's network of factories in the northern defence corridor, as defined by the Ministry of Defence in its Defence Industrial Strategy. It joins Indra's factory in Gijón and the new plant the company will open in Barros, Langreo, strengthening Spain's autonomy and sovereignty in the domestic development and manufacture of military vehicles.

The launch of the plant forms part of the company's rapid industrialisation programme, the most ambitious in its history, which will quadruple its production floor space from 36,000 square metres to more than 154,000. With an investment of more than €200 million, Indra will create over 1,000 direct industrial jobs and 1,400 engineering and highly skilled positions.

The company will concentrate military vehicle production in the northern corridor, drone production in the central corridor and radar production in the southern corridor.

Indra is also Galicia's leading technology company, with more than 1,600 professionals working to modernise public administration and infrastructure and digitalise businesses across all sectors. It has workplaces in all four provinces, maintains agreements with universities and organisations across Galicia and collaborates with 15 vocational training centres, demonstrating its commitment to young people in Galicia and innovation in the region.