Spain Rejects Purchase of Israeli Anti-Tank Weapons
On the afternoon of June 3, 2025, an American news agency published a report by Teresa Medrano titled “Spain cancels contract for anti-tank missiles manufactured by Israeli subsidiary.” It reads:
“Spain has cancelled an agreement for anti-tank missile systems (or anti-tank guided missiles – Slovak abbreviation PTRS) that were to be manufactured in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company, in an attempt to move away from Israeli military technology, the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.
The decision will affect the license for 168 SPIKE LR2 anti-tank missile systems with an estimated value of 285 million euros ($325 million). The systems were to be developed in Spain (or supplied after integration onto suitable platforms of the Spanish army; in addition to the ground army, the SPIKE PTRS were to form the armament of at least the Spanish marines) by Pap Tecnos, a Madrid subsidiary of the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, local press reports report (the agency may be referring to a recent article in the daily El País).
“The objective is clear… complete decoupling from Israeli technology,” government spokeswoman Pilar told reporters Alegría said, adding that the government was studying “the consequences of the cancellation.”
Israel’s Defense Ministry referred questions about the decision to Rafael, which told the Associated Press it was unaware of the cancellation. Pap Tecnos, based on the outskirts of Madrid, declined to comment. Spain approved the deal on Oct. 3, 2023, four days before a Hamas-led rebel attack on southern Israel that sparked the devastating Gaza war. Authorities at the time argued that the systems used by Spanish forces were outdated and should be replaced with more modern versions like those used by allied armies.
Spain’s leftist government says it has stopped arms exports to Israel since Oct. 2, 2023, but there have been reports that some shipments have passed through. The United States launched an investigation late last year into whether NATO ally Spain denied port entry to at least three cargo ships that were allegedly transported American weapons to Israel.
Spain formally recognized the state of Palestine in May 2024 in a coordinated effort with Norway and Ireland. A month later, Spain became the first European country to ask the UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, for permission to join a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Israel strongly denies the accusation.”
So much for the AP report. What more could be said. The report quotes a Spanish government spokeswoman. Pilar Alegría, however, merely echoed the position of Defense Minister María Amparo Volcarce García, who said a week ago that the Spanish government was developing exit plans to avoid any dependence on Israel.
For the sake of complete objectivity, and to avoid the suspicion that Spain has reconsidered its intention to purchase Israeli PTRS based on the evaluation of the experience of using drones on the Ukrainian battlefield, it can be added that already in late April 2025, Spain canceled an order for millions of rounds from an Israeli company worth 6.6 million euros (5.7 million pounds) after smaller partners in the coalition government condemned it as a “flagrant violation” of the coalition agreement that would jeopardize the country’s ongoing efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza. In contrast, the Spanish Interior Ministry wanted the purchase of 15.3 million 9mm rounds from the Israeli company IMI Systems to go ahead because the contract was too advanced and too expensive to cancel. The Interior Ministry also stated that the cancellation of the contract would leave the Guardia Civil forces (i.e. the equivalent of the future so-called gendarmerie corps in Slovakia, we have something to look forward to) without ammunition.
It seems that the political background of the decision is obvious and Spain is simply making Israel aware of its position on the events in Gaza.
If we take into account Israel’s right to self-defense, it should do so in a different style. There are two problems. The number of civilian casualties objectively and nominally contrasts with the number of civilian casualties of the special military operation led by Russia for three and a quarter years in Ukraine.
Secondly, a humanitarian crisis was not provoked in Ukraine, the much-trodden bridges across the Dnieper are under Ukrainian control, unlike those that were under Russian control. This allows for a continuous flow of not only humanitarian supplies, but also weapons and reinforcements from the west to left-bank Ukraine, but it leaves civilians free to leave for right-bank Ukraine and further west. Will this ultimately increase or decrease the number of victims of the Ukrainian conflict? Slovak mass media will not count this either.
In the context of the attack on the Kerch Bridge, it is unlikely that if Russian ground forces approached any bridge across the Dnieper, it would remain standing. Ukraine would probably argue after its destruction that it is advantageous to defend itself against a forced crossing of the water barrier by Russia on the right bank of the Dnieper. As for the SPIKE LR2 PTRS itself, Slovakia has ordered classic PTRS launchers and the missiles are also to be integrated into the BOV 8×8 Patria wheeled combat vehicles, as well as the CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles.
Max Bach
