Photo & Video Credit: SP Guide Pubns

On the eve of its visit, the Ambassador of Spain, Gustavo de Aristegui spoke to SP’s M.A.I. about the rich historical tradition of Spain and how it is unique not having any hegemonic aspirations. Here in an interview with the Editor-in-Chief of SP’s M.A.I., Jayant Baranwal, the Ambassador spoke at length on various issues concerning India-Spain relationship. Excerpts of the interview:

SP’s M.A.I. (SP’s): Can you elaborate on the objectives and sentiments behind the arrival of the Spanish Armada Cantabria?

Ambassador Gustavo de Aristegui (Ambassador): We are proud of this. It is the first time in the history of our bilateral relationship a ship is coming to an Indian port. The visit of Cantabria, the huge sailing school ship for naval officers is an emotional moment for us. We have a beautiful protocol as we have the oldest Marine Corps in the world and all the tradition is there. Our naval officers are the finest and they have been deployed with the Royal Australian Navy for almost a year.

It is an essential ship for modern naval warfare and it also has 25-bed hospital, ICU and dental clinic. It is one of those multi-purpose ships in concept. We have created newer version of long helicopter deck (LHD) and it is a Spanish invention of landing platform dock (LPD) and an aircraft carrier. The Royal Australian Navy has received two of these ships. In the Indian configuration of the ships it will be a long helicopter deck. It is effective in combat, submarine warfare, rescue etc. The ship is conceived as a projection of amphibious warfare. It has a dock in the stern of the ship that has capacity to launch six assault boats with capacity for dozens of troops in each of them. Once the ship nears a beach, the back of the ship opens and six fast attack boats can be launched. It is state-of-the-art and has many command and control systems wherein thousands of troops can be controlled on sea. It can also control air traffic hundreds of miles of the ship. It has the most advanced pod propeller system.

A 30,000-tonne ship actually manoeuvres like a small ferry. Everything that commands the ship is above the floatation line which is again a novelty. It can transport 5,000 people. It can be used in humanitarian relief work such as the earthquake in Haiti. The ship can go to the coast and be transformed as a relief centre... it can have war tanks, trucks with humanitarian aid. This is the most versatile warship in the world right now.

SP’s: What all Spain can offer to have a strong base of partnership in India for the global market?

Ambassador: It is very complimentary. I see great opportunity in the emerging markets. When I see India it is not just great opportunity but great opportunity for meaningful and solid partnership. Why? Because India is known for intellectual property and like Spain it is devoted to high technology, engineering, avant-garde solutions, research and development, infrastructure, tourism, and defence.

In defence, we have sophisticated system of multidimensional electronic and radar multilinked systems. Our coastline is highly protected. We have the 13th largest coastline (7,800 km of coastline as peninsula) as we have so many islands. This makes us a maritime nation. So is India which is between two oceans and you are in a complicated neighbourhood. It is not an easy neighbourhood. Spain is good at thwarting terror threats, organised crime, illegal trafficking etc. Our systems are quite impressive and we are going to invite Indian officials to visit coastal defence systems. Our systems such as radars, motion detectors, infrared cameras, CCTV cameras and all combined gives us a picture of what is happening up to 16 kilometres into sea. It is extremely effective in search and rescue operations and response time is much faster.

In the early years of this century, we had peaked to 2,50,000 illegal penetrations from the sea borders, now it is down to dozens as the Spanish Navy picks them up much before they come near the border. We are doing extremely well as far as coastal protection. These systems have been developed by Indra and Amper. Indra is among the world’s giants in high-tech with three out of every five air traffic control being built by Indra and nearly 90 per cent of ATC used in India is by Indra. There are certain contracts with the defence sector which is catered by Indra and we are extremely satisfied with the level of expertise that Indra has developed.

SP’s: What is the proportion R&D investment in Spain?

Ambassador: It is not that much. However, the R&D budget has doubled from 600 million euros in 2012 and is expected to touch nearly 1.4 billion euros in 2014. Some of the most cutting-edge technology is made by the private sector. Telefonica is a full-fledged technological giant in the world and has huge R&D investment. We are only 49 million people and we take pride in our global companies such as Indra, Telefonica, Navantia, Airbus Military consortium of which we are a proud part.

As for Airbus Military, none of the other participants in the consortium had any kind experience in building military transport aircraft and it was CASA, the Spanish branch of EADS. This is how the A400M project was born which was an evolution of the capacities, the technologies and the design of many decades of brilliant work of Spanish aerospace engineers. That has given birth to an aircraft of the quality of C295 which is doubtlessly the best mid-sized military airplane in the world. This is used by the American Coast Guard. It has won dozens of tenders around the world. This is the plane we intend to replace Avro transport plane. It is used as a platform for anti-submarine war, rescue, surveillance, border control, transport troops, and also as a mid-size gunship...all of that technology is behind the world’s most advanced military transport plane A400M. It is bigger than the Hercules. It is the only turboprop that can fly at a cruising speed of a commercial jetliner which is 0.74 Mach whereas others are flying 30 to 40 per cent slower than that. It cuts down transport time for deployment of troops and in military terms, it gives huge tactical advantage.

SP’s: The A400M is a transcontinental project. What is the share of Spain in that?

Ambassador: The share of Spain in the consortium is relatively low at 5 per cent. Project-wise it differs and in the A330 MRTT the share is over 47 per cent. The aerial refuelling Boom system (ARBS) on it is the most advanced refuelling system in the world. The Boom is totally computerised and it is a Spanish design. The MRTT has substantial component from Spain, the tail, the belly, and parts of the cabin. This Boom is unbeatable. It consistently defeats Russian and American technology. Even in the US, when there is unbiased assessment of technology it has defeated Boeing.

SP’s: What roles can this aircraft play other than as a fuelling tanker?

Ambassador: Technologically it is so advanced...we don’t take any space from the passenger area. It still has a sizeable amount of cargo capacity. It can be used for troop transportation and can be transformed into a super VIP military plane. I think there is great need for such planes in India as it is a safe plane for a Head of State to fly as it can effectively thwart a missile attack. It is a multi-purpose aircraft and not just a refuelling jet. It can transport 300 troops and also high ranking officials in a business class environment. It is very versatile and the configuration of the plane can be changed rapidly for different purposes including a medical version.

SP’s: Coming to the defence trade in India, does EU play an effective role?

Ambassador: It is getting there. I see it happen. There is an excellent EU Ambassador here. The EU is a project in the making. You cannot count the things it has not yet achieved as flaws, but it will be achieved. India has very cordial bilateral relations with individual countries of the EU but they don’t see yet the usefulness of the EU. However, it is the responsibility of the EU with regard to foreign trade, regulation etc. Negotiations are going along a safe path and mutually beneficial result is due. I heard the Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram stating that there was a window of opportunity from now to February if the negotiators made a breakthrough and signed the FTA, if not the negotiations will continue with new EU commission and with the new Indian Government next year.

SP’s: Would you like to indicate the key milestones of Navantia?

Ambassador: The most advanced frigate in the world is the F100 which is of Spanish design. The F100 frigate is the basis for AF85 frigate Navantia built for the Norwegian Navy. It has some of the most advanced large...it would be like small frigates (BAMS–Maritime Action Boats). It is a boat of 4,000 tonnes and has a crew of less than 40. It is totally automated. We have an extremely efficient Navy because of the new concepts. No other nation has the BAM concept as they have corvettes which are a smaller version of a frigate. BAM is a Spanish invention. It has more firing capacity with 30 per cent less displacement and more speed, lot less manpower. It is a revolution in maritime warfare.

The submarine project is a little delayed but the S80 concept is absolutely amazing. It has the most advanced autonomous energy systems and definitely the safest. It is a multi-purpose firing system developed by several companies in the world. It has some of the most silent navigational capacities in the world and very interesting underwater speed and silent. It has command controls which can coordinate land, sea and air attacks at the same time and is considered as a NATO command post.

SP’s: In India there is a lot of debate of having own aerospace complex in terms of self-reliance. Does Spain support the idea?

Ambassador: We want to be a partner with Indian companies and we are keen on participating. We are not going to withhold any kind of technology. We are going to be transparent. Offsets are going to be real and we are going to give you the latest and not first generation technology. There is a lot of potential for both private and public companies to go to world markets after developing synergies. Navantia is partnering L&T and they are going to participate in tenders of Indian Navy. Airbus Military is looking for an Indian partner for replacement of the Avro aircraft. Everybody has legitimate aspiration to indigenise their military; however, there will be joint ventures. For instance the weapon systems of our submarines are with US collaboration. We have taken hardware and systems from others and we built a totally Spanish product. Our LHD is a floating electronic war machine.

SP’s: What is your perception about FDI in defence in India and what it should be?

Ambassador: It is a very delicate matter of sovereignty. It has to have some kind of special regulation. We cannot be fuzzy about our defence sector for investment and similarly we need to respect other country’s reasoning. FDI should be open in other sectors, in defence you have to be careful. It needs regulation from government. There are delicate matters pertaining to security and stability and geopolitical interests have to be taken into account. We have to take necessary caution.