Rank #15 · Europe
Spain crossed the NATO 2% of GDP threshold for the first time in 2025, spending $40.2B — a 50% real-terms jump that was the largest among major spenders. The April 2025 Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence channelled €10.5B into Indra, Navantia, and Airbus to underwrite the surge.
Spain's 2025 spending surge was funded primarily through extraordinary credit (créditos extraordinarios) routed via the April 2025 Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence (PTISD). The plan committed approximately €10.5B (~$11.8B) on top of the ordinary defence budget, aimed at hitting NATO 2% in a single year. A substantial share flows through procurement contracts to Spanish primes — Indra, Navantia, GDELS-Santa Bárbara, and Airbus Defence and Space — supporting the Programas Especiales de Modernización (PEM) including F-110 frigates, S-80 Plus submarines, Eurofighter Halcón, NH90, 8x8 Dragón, and Pizarro IFV. Personnel costs remain stable; capital outlays are the entire growth story.
The Spanish Armed Forces field about 117,500 active personnel — Army (~70,500), Navy (~20,500, including Marines), and Air & Space Force (~22,000) — supplemented by 75,800 Guardia Civil with military duties. The Navy operates the LHD Juan Carlos I (a small carrier with Harriers, transitioning to F-35B under the future Halcón II framework still under study), Álvaro de Bazán-class F-100 frigates with Aegis, Santa María-class frigates, and S-80 Plus submarines (Isaac Peral commissioned 2024). The Air & Space Force flies Eurofighter Typhoon and EF-18 Hornets, transitioning to additional Eurofighter Halcón tranches and the FCAS sixth-generation system in the longer term. Spain commands NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón and contributes regularly to Baltic and Black Sea air policing.
Spain hosts a strong, partially state-owned defence industrial base. Navantia (state) is the warship prime — F-110 frigates, S-80 submarines, BAM patrol vessels, and Australian/Saudi exports. Indra (state-influenced) leads in radar (Lanza-3D), electronic warfare, and is the Spanish industrial coordinator for FCAS pillar work. Airbus Defence and Space (Spanish footprint at Getafe and Sevilla) builds A400M and C295. GDELS-Santa Bárbara handles armoured vehicles, including the 8x8 Dragón. Spain is a Eurofighter consortium partner (4-nation: UK, Germany, Italy, Spain) and the Spanish industrial lead for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) in partnership with France and Germany. The 2025 PTISD specifically targets industrial-base resilience and dual-use technology.
Spain has no active combat deployments but maintains a substantial NATO and EU footprint. Forces are deployed to NATO's enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia and Romania, lead the EU Battlegroup rotations, and contribute to UNIFIL Lebanon and Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa. Spanish frigates participate in Operation Aspides in the Red Sea against Houthi attacks. The Sahel mission set has contracted following the 2024 EU withdrawal from Mali. Domestically, Spain confronts continued migrant pressure on the Canary Islands and the Ceuta/Melilla enclaves, where the Guardia Civil and Army share frontier responsibilities.
On 27 April 2026, SIPRI confirmed Spain's 2025 spend at $40.2B (2.1% of GDP), a 50% real-terms increase. The Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence (PTISD) launched April 2025 committed €10.5B through 2025 alone. The Eurofighter Halcón II tranche was authorized in late 2025 (~25 additional aircraft). The S-80 Plus second submarine (Narciso Monturiol) was launched in March 2026. The F-110 Bonifaz was floated out at Ferrol in late 2024 with sea trials underway. Spain endorsed the NATO 5%-by-2035 pledge in June 2025, with Madrid stating it would reach the target through additional industrial and dual-use spending classification.
Yes — for the first time since the pledge was agreed in 2014. SIPRI puts Spain's 2025 burden at 2.1% of GDP. The 50% real-terms jump in spending — the largest among major spenders — was funded mainly through the April 2025 Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence (~€10.5B extraordinary credit).
The Future Combat Air System is a France-Germany-Spain trilateral developing a sixth-generation manned fighter (NGF) and a System of Systems including loyal-wingman drones (Remote Carriers) and combat cloud. Indra is the Spanish industrial coordinator. Phase 2 demonstrator contracts were placed in 2024.
Indra (radar, EW, FCAS coordination), Navantia (warships and submarines), Airbus Defence and Space (A400M, C295, Eurofighter assembly), GDELS-Santa Bárbara (armoured vehicles), and Escribano (electro-optics, weapon stations).
Spain operates one LHD, the Juan Carlos I, capable of operating AV-8B+ Harriers in a sea-control role. The Harrier fleet retires later in the decade. Spain is studying F-35B procurement to maintain fixed-wing carrier aviation but no firm contract has been signed as of 2026.