The Hon Pat Conroy MP, Minister for Defence Industry, formally inaugurated the office. The event brought together senior Australian and Spanish leaders from government, defense, diplomacy, and industry, reflecting the depth of the bilateral relationship and a shared commitment to maritime security, innovation, and industrial capability.
Guests included senior representatives from the Australian Government, Royal Australian Navy, Spanish Embassy, and Navantia, including Alicia Payne MP; Ambassador Esther Monterrubio Villar; Navantia Director of Operations and Business Gonzalo Mateo-Guerrero; Vice Admiral (Retired) Javier Romero Caramelo; Rear Admiral Andrew Quinn, RAN; and Commodore Edward Seymour CSC, RAN.
Navantia Director of Operations and Business Gonzalo Mateo-Guerrero described the Canberra office as a strategic investment in Australia, one that will deepen collaboration with government, Defense, research organizations, and industry while connecting Australian expertise with Navantia’s global naval and technology programs.
“Australia is a strategic partner for Navantia and a vital contributor to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. Our Canberra office demonstrates our long-term commitment to investing in Australian capability, technology, and talent.
“By uniting Australia’s world-class engineering and innovation with Navantia’s global naval expertise, we will deliver greater value for the Australian Defence Force, strengthen sovereign industrial capability, and create new opportunities for Australian solutions in international markets,” Mr Mateo-Guerrero said.
Navantia has more than 400 years of maritime heritage and operates globally across naval shipbuilding, systems, and technology. In Australia, the company supports major Royal Australian Navy platforms and is expanding sovereign capability in naval design, sustainment, digital engineering, advanced analytics, and maritime autonomy.
The Canberra office will support Navantia Australia’s portfolio of Australian-developed digital and autonomous technologies. Teleia® improves operational insight, maintenance planning, and asset availability; Omatha® enables trusted human oversight of multiple autonomous systems; and the Uncrewed Landing Craft® supports logistics, surveillance, humanitarian assistance, and infrastructure missions while reducing personnel exposure to hazardous environments.
Navantia Australia is pursuing opportunities across the Indo-Pacific and other priority markets, including the United Kingdom, India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, in autonomous vessels, amphibious and landing craft, mine countermeasures, digital sustainment, and advanced surface-ship design. Navantia’s international network provides a route to scale these Australian-developed capabilities, with local engineers and industry partners contributing design, software, integration, training, and through-life support.
International growth can sustain highly skilled Australian jobs, create opportunities for small and medium enterprises, embed sovereign intellectual property in global naval supply chains, and attract further investment in local research and development. Greater scale can also accelerate product maturity and reinforce the industrial capability available to the Australian Defence Force.
From Canberra, Navantia Australia will turn deeper Australia–Spain cooperation into tangible outcomes, accelerating sovereign technologies into operational use, connecting Australian engineers and industry partners with global naval programs, and opening new pathways for Australian innovation in trusted international markets.
