Seat has presented dual-use drone proposals to the Spanish Ministry of Defence and is examining whether it can manufacture them at its Martorell factory, Spanish business newspaper Expansión reported. The carmaker considers diversification into defence sensible but must define the industrial plan before submitting a formal proposal to parent company Volkswagen.
Under the project outline, Seat would provide manufacturing capacity while Catalan technology group Aggity would manage technological development. The plan envisions two consortia: one led by Aggity alongside Cargo Drone Solutions, Bluenest, and XRF, and a second where Seat provides production facilities. Adding drone manufacturing could require a new production line at Martorell, where three vehicle assembly lines are currently operating.
Seat and Aggity previously met with the Ministry of Industry and Tourism to explore public funding through a Special Modernisation Programme. Seat also held preliminary talks with Indra regarding tactical military vehicles, although those discussions are currently on hold. The Ministry of Defence has also contacted other automotive companies, including Ficosa and Ford, to assess manufacturing capacity for defence programmes.
