Overview
- Spain’s Cabinet approved on December 23, following a favorable JIMDDU review, an exceptional lift of the embargo to permit Israeli-origin components for Airbus.
- The waiver applies to four programs — A400M, A330 MRTT, C295 and SIRTAP — assembled in Seville and Getafe, where production faced relocation risk without the parts.
- Airbus warned that thousands of jobs and major export orders were at stake, citing no immediate substitutes for systems such as Elbit’s DIRCM and Elta maritime-surveillance radars.
- Robles framed the decision as an industrial and commercial measure, and the government must brief Congress on the scope and reasoning when it reconvenes.
- Defense has not granted exceptions for domestic programs including SILAM, Spike and the Dragón 8x8, and contractors are developing alternatives that will delay timelines.