Indira signs contract for Phase 1B of the Next Generation Weapon System
Indra the leading global technology and consulting company has signed, the contract for Phase 1B of the Next Generation Weapon System within Future Combat Air System (NGWS/FCAS) program in Spain. The deal will address architecture selection, concept development, technology maturation, and validation through demonstrations.
Indra, as national coordinator of the program in Spain (which participates on an equal footing with France and Germany, which have their respective national coordinators, Dassault Aviation and Airbus Defence and Space Germany), will be responsible for promoting and coordinating Spanish industrial participation, encouraging the development of companies and SMEs in the sector, and the entire innovative ecosystem, with universities and research centers at the forefront. The contract will involve the contracting of more than €600M to Indra in various projects to be executed over the next three years. Indra will have a headquarters and a work center dedicated exclusively to the FCAS project.
Indra CEO Ignacio Mataix said, “The development of the Next Generation Weapon System (NGWS), one of the main ingredients of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), consolidates Indra as the coordinator of the Spanish industry and one of the great technological leaders of European defense”
The new Phase 1B will address the evolution and maturation of next-generation technologies. which will make NGWS/FCAS the most advanced air combat system of systems in the world.
The defence industry is witnessing a paradigm shift from the traditional, independently operated fighter jet to an interconnected “system of systems” comprising a Next Generation Fighter (NGF), various unmanned platforms, remote carriers (RC), and a Combat Cloud. This Combat Cloud will be the enabling element of the system of systems that rely on Advanced Connectivity (Intra-vehicle Wideband datalinks, Satellite, Opportunistic, Optical) will allow a high availability of information and, application of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Edge Computing, will convert that information into knowledge, enabling Collaborative Combat and Air superiority through unprecedented Multi-platform collaborative capabilities and services.
The contract will give a strong boost to the entire Spanish business and innovative industrial fabrics, as it will require the incorporation of SMEs, universities, technology and research centers from all over the country into the project.
The wide range of dual technologies beyond the state of the art will have a major impact on the entire value chain of Spanish industry, improving its competitiveness, promoting the digital transformation of the sector, and achieving a role of maximum importance in Europe. In this regard, Indra, as national coordinator, also works to ensure the maximum return of the program for our country and to guarantee national sovereignty over the technologies that the Ministry of Defence has defined as critical.
The recently launched Phase 1B will also represent an opportunity for the development of the national talent and own technological capabilities with the creation of more than 1,000 highly skilled jobs in Spain, more than 400 of them at Indra, to which will be added all the indirect jobs generated through subcontracting, purchases and related services. Spain will participate in 33% of the technological developments of the entire program, leading some of the key activities.
