Spain cancels purchase of Israeli Litening target pods

The Spanish Ministry of Defense has announced the cancellation of a contract with the Israeli Rafael for the procurement of Litening target pods.

The decision was announced today at the Spanish public sector contracting platform¹, the contract was worth 207 million euros.

The Litening target pods had been contracted in March of 2024, and per Spanish specialized media, the Spanish Air Force would buy 46 of the latest version of the pod, the Litening V², they would also equip the new Eurofighter Typhons contracted under Halcon I and II.

This decision follows an increased erosion of Israeli and Spanish relations. Pedro Sánchez, the nation’s Prime Minister, has accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Palestine and on the 8^th of September announced that the country would impose an arms embargo on the middle eastern country³.

This announcement was then quickly followed on the 9^th of September by the cancellation of a 258 million euros contract⁴ for 168 Spike LR2 launchers, including several missiles, and of a second contract⁵ worth 576 million euros for the SILAM MLRS.

Sources:

1:https://contrataciondelestado.es/wps/portal/!ut/p/b0/Dco7CoAwDADQI0XEDwodOrjprHaRYKMEYy0SqsfX8cEDBxO4gIl3VL4Cyu_ZE0XhcLSeFEVoEV5Zcf0DjODAse-SwFz3x3NVRbPlr5Z3FvY0kFpjIJ6n_QDgvPUJ/

2: https://www.defensa.com/espana/nuevos-eurofighter-ejercito-aire-espacio-contaran-pods-litening

3: https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2025/09/08/68be770ce9cf4a20608b4590.html

4:https://contrataciondelestado.es/wps/portal/!ut/p/b0/DcqxCoAgEADQr2k-2ypwkFCaIyhd4kiLo8skpKCvr_HBAwcTuIg3bZjpjMi_rQ8hMcW98SEjc5iZFsq4_AFGcODI65vBDqYQpbreuhBVa9j03apfjY-UkI5Dfb-YxZs!/

5:https://contrataciondelestado.es/wps/portal/!ut/p/b0/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjU1JTC3Iy87KtUlJLEnNyUuNzMpMzSxKTgQr0w_Wj9KMyU1zLcvQjXbI8XIKNSn20VQ1S3QJVDXIygrzNLXMcbW31C3JzHQE0RjxB/