Ángel Olivares, president of the Feindef Foundation, presided over the inauguration of FEINDEF 25 yesterday in a ceremony attended by Ricardo Martí Fluxá, president of TEDAE, and Gerardo Sánchez Revenga, president of AESMIDE. Among the authorities present were Margarita Robles, Minister of Defence; Jordi Hereu, Minister of Industry and Tourism; María Amparo Valcarce, Secretary of State for Defence; and Esperanza Casteleiro, Secretary of State and Director of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI). "Without security there is no well-being, no peace, no freedom", stressed Ángel Olivares in his speech, who called for the construction of "a strong and resilient defence industry".
Yesterday, Lieutenant General Ivorra and ISDEFE CEO Manuel Cutrín inaugurated the INNOVA Space, the innovation hub at FEINDEF 25. Among the panel discussions, Indra, Telefónica, Navantia, and FUNDITEC participated in the panel entitled "Barriers and Challenges for Innovation in Defense," while members of the CDTI (Spanish Institute of Technology and Innovation), DIANA (Spanish University of Madrid), INCIBE (Spanish Institute of Technology and Innovation), TEDAE (Spanish Institute of Technology and Innovation), and ZELESTIUM participated in the panel discussion "Defense on the Path to Innovation."
Yesterday also featured a commemorative panel for ISDEFE's 40th anniversary, along with various conferences and debates focused on new technologies, knowledge transfer, and public-private collaboration.
Among the highlights of the day was the Roundtable of the Chiefs of General Staff of the Spanish Armed Forces, which addressed the Armed Forces' commitment to digital transformation, operational integration, and the modernization of their capabilities. For its part, the European Commission, through representatives of DG DEFIS, presented the new European Defence Fund (EDF) funding opportunities for 2025.
AI applied to advanced logistics was the focus of a roundtable discussion with representatives from the Army, Navy, UROVESA, Accenture, and Thales, focusing on the future of intelligent military sustainment. The focus on labor and industry was also relevant at the panel organized by UGT on employment and the challenges of the new defense investment cycle, with the participation of Rheinmetall, EOI, and ASIME. The debate "The Growth of Defense Investment" was also held, with representatives from Lockheed Martin, ITP Aero, and Eurofighter, and "Cyberspace as an Operational Domain," with members of Thales, TRC, Accenture, and the Joint Cyber Command.
