Spain consolidates the relationship with the US arms giant Lockheed Martin coinciding with the most ambitious defense investment in history. The Central Government has decided to give priority to the acquisition of war material made in the USA, a decision embodied this week in the approval of an important millionaire contract at the last Council of Ministers. It is not the first commitment nor will it be the last. Pedro Sánchez visits Joe Biden at the White House on May 12 with several items on the agenda, including the military horizon. In the national military industry this bet has caused surprise. Lockheed Martin is the largest contractor for the US military. Fighter jets, helicopters, missiles, radars… Few companies in the world have such a wide catalog of defensive and offensive equipment. With Spain, where the multinational has a commercial office, the relationship has been historic and has just been strengthened. On April 25, the Ministry of Defense authorized the first major contract of the new special defense programs, which went to the Maryland-based giant. About 820.5 million to acquire eight MH-60R multipurpose helicopters, known as Romeo in military jargon. “These new devices – explains the Central Government – will replace the fleet of SH-60B helicopters [also from Lockheed Martin] and will allow the Navy to meet needs and update and enhance capabilities”. “The acquisition of this weapons system also involves the supply of different equipment that is associated with it and initial logistical support”, adds the Executive. Strategic operation, in short. The national military industry views this first economic move with some resentment. They understand that the announcement is made at a key political moment, Sánchez’s visit to Washington at the start of the election campaign, but they miss support similar to the technology made in Spain and which creates jobs in Europe. “We would like to collaborate with the United States on the Romeo and other projects, of course”, admits a large national company. They demand, therefore, to accelerate the large contracts with companies such as Airbus or Indra. The Ministry of Defense and the company Lockheed Martin were contacted, but did not respond to the request for information about their business relationships. Spain’s commitment to Romeo helicopters does not end. In the current budgets, the Central Government provided for an expenditure of 145 million to buy new Patriot missiles, one of the star products of the giant of the United States. Spain currently has a battery of these missiles deployed in Turkey. In addition, Defence, through the Navy, must take another major decision in the coming months that would affect Lockheed Martin. This is the renewal of the current Harrier, vertical take-off and landing aircraft that are already obsolete. The program, endowed with 6,250 million, still does not have a winner, but it does have a great favorite: the F-35 of the United States brand, which is the only aircraft on the market capable of operating vertically on military ships. This fifth-generation fighter-bomber that can reach 2,000 kilometers per hour is, according to industry sources, the best position to win this important military contract. Sánchez will appear in the White House in front of Biden with these economic and military credentials under his arm. Since the censure motion, ties with Washington have never been so intense, and this is the result of an evolution of the Spanish Government. La Moncloa is now firmly committed to the military bet, in a scenario of war in Ukraine, but in 2019, with Donald Trump in power, Sánchez himself made the decision to withdraw the frigate Méndez Núñez from the combat group led by the States united This was considered a grievance in Washington. The expansion of the bases of Rota and Morón has also arrived with the coalition Government.