EM&E and Tecnove join forces with the Ukrainian company Practika to manufacture armored vehicles after Zelensky’s visit

The Spanish companies Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) and Tecnove have signed an agreement with the Ukrainian company Practika to jointly manufacture different types of armored vehicles. The agreement seeks to combine the capabilities of the three companies to develop armored fire support, specialized platforms such as ambulances or electronic warfare vehicles, non-military transport vehicles for demining teams and “any other industrial cooperation in defense matters to reinforce the Spanish and Ukrainian industry.”

“By virtue of this agreement, signed within the framework of the official visit to Spain of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, EM&E Group will provide its latest technology in remote weapons stations pto equip Practika’s advanced armored vehicles. All this with the experience in integration and transformation of Tecnove special vehicles“, detailed EM&E in a statement. Tecnove is a Spanish company specialized in the manufacture, transformation and maintenance of bodies and special vehicles, while Practika is a Ukrainian manufacturer of military armor.

EM&E has stressed that this agreement is “a sample of the commitment” of the three companies to strengthening industrial cooperation between Spain and Ukraine in the field of defense and that it is aligned with European efforts to strengthen strategic autonomy. “The collaboration between companies from both countries symbolizes a joint commitment to a more solid, integrated European defense prepared to respond to complex scenarios,” he detailed.

After meeting with the sector

This Tuesday, Zelensky held a meeting with a group of 13 Spanish companies in the defense sector at the headquarters of Indra, which took advantage of the meeting to show its industrial capabilities and part of its product portfolio, among which anti-drone systems and radars stand out, according to company sources.

“Ukraine is interested in a defense alliance with Spain. Today, during a meeting with the leaders of Spanish defense companies and the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, we addressed areas of cooperation. Spanish manufacturers presented their innovations. Anti-drone systems, turrets, aerial and ground drones, long-range detection radars and ammunition. They detailed their production capacity, the possible uses of their equipment and their technical characteristics,” Zelensky stressed through X.

Specifically, representatives from Arquimea, Centum, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E), Fecsa, GMV, Instalaza, Marine Instruments, Meltio, Oesía, Sener, Tecnove and Urovesa attended the meeting with the Ukrainian president at the Indra headquarters.

Along these lines, among the defense systems that Zelenski has been able to learn more about are the LTR-25 air surveillance radars – developed by Indra – or the Aracne anti-drone equipment from Indra and EM&E. The meeting with the aforementioned defense companies took place after this past Monday Zelensky agreed with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on the purchase over the next decade of a total of 100 Rafale fighters, manufactured by the French company Dassault.

In this context, Zelensky has also met with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who has announced that Spain will mobilize 817 million to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion, of which 615 million euros will be used to provide military support and another 200 million euros will be to support reconstruction in the country.