The Pentagon notified Congress of a possible $243 million sale of four MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, ground control stations, sensors, and spares to the Spanish air force, officials announced Oct. 6. The sale “improves Spain’s ability to meet current and future threats” while enhancing NATO’s ISR capability in improving Spanish interoperability with the US and Alliance nations, stated the Defense Security Cooperation Agency release. The foreign military sales deal would include two mobile ground control stations, as well as multi-spectral targeting sensors and Lynx synthetic aperture radar for the RPAs, and requisite training and maintenance support. Spain’s Ejército del Aire plans to employ the MQ-9s for “homeland security, peacekeeping, peace enforcement, counterinsurgency, and counterterrorism operations,” according to the release. In addition to the Air Force, NATO allies France, Italy, and the United Kingdom operate the Reaper.
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
