Spain increased its arms sales to Morocco by 40.4% in 2025, reaching €29.6m, up from €21.08m the year before. The figures come from Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Trade and were reported by Ok Diario.
The exports included different types of military equipment. About €1.8m was for war weapons, more than €100,000 for rifles, and over €12m for accessories and parts. The biggest share, around €15m, was for bombs, grenades and torpedoes.
The rise in sales comes as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez keeps a ban on military trade with Israel. Spain has stopped selling weapons to Israel and is not buying Israeli defence technology. At the same time, Madrid is under pressure from NATO allies to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP. The government says spending about 2.1% is enough and fits its budget plans.
Ties between Spain and Morocco have improved since 2022, when Madrid backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara. That decision ended a diplomatic dispute and opened closer cooperation, especially on migration and security.
Morocco is upgrading its military as part of a long-term plan running to 2030. The aim is to keep pace with Algeria, which has traditionally bought large amounts of Russian weapons. By buying from Spain, Morocco spreads out its suppliers and strengthens ties with an EU country.
Spanish defence companies benefit from these deals. State-owned shipbuilder Navantia launched an offshore patrol vessel for the Moroccan navy in May 2025. The full contract is worth about €130m and has created more than one million hours of work and around 1,100 jobs in Spain.
Technology company Indra Group supplies radar and communication systems. Munitions producer Expal Systems, now part of the Rheinmetall Group, is linked to much of the €15m in bombs and grenades.
The sales have caused political debate in Spain. Mr Sánchez’s Socialist party says they are needed for stability and good relations with Morocco. But coalition partners Sumar and Podemos want an arms embargo, saying Spain should not sell weapons while the Western Sahara issue is still unresolved.
On the right, the far-right party Vox has called Morocco a “military threat” and tried to freeze economic and military ties. The proposal failed in parliament. The main opposition Popular Party has accused the government of double standards and a lack of transparency.
A survey in July 2025 by the Elcano Royal Institute found that 55% of Spaniards see Morocco as the main threat to national security. This is despite trade between the two countries reaching €21bn in 2025.
