Defense delegates the purchase of surveillance drones to the FAE

The Ministry of National Defense delegated to the general commander of the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) the entirety of the procurement process to acquire unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) destined for the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) System. The measure is contained in Ministerial Agreement No. 382, signed by Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo Rendón and published in the Official Registry Supplement No. 395 on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The referential budget for the process amounts to USD 1,085,000.00, excluding VAT.

The delegation is based on the Seventh General Provision of Ministerial Agreement No. 132 of April 2, 2025, amended by Ministerial Agreement No. 327 of September 1, 2026, published in Ministerial General Order No. 136. This regulation empowers the head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and the general commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to request an express delegation when a special regime procurement exceeds USD 540,945.26, with the exception of the execution of works.

The request was formulated by the general commander of the FAE through official letter FA-CGFAE-JE-F-A-2026-4859-OF dated September 25, 2026, to which the Necessity Report FA-JKC-n5-IN-2026-032-O and the Technical Specifications FA-JKC-n5-ET-2026-032-O, both dated August 18, 2026, and the reasoned report FA-JE-F-2026-189-O dated September 24, 2026, were attached. The General Coordination of Strategic Goods Procurement issued the favorable report MDN-CGCBE-DPC-2026-039-INF on September 30, 2026, and on that same day, the minister ordered in the Quipux system: “AUTHORIZED TO CONTINUE PROCESS”.

Drones are not listed as strategic goods

Before processing the purchase, the FAE inquired whether the devices were cataloged as strategic goods for national defense. The General Coordination of Strategic Goods responded via official letter MDN-CGB-2026-0278-OF dated September 22, 2026, that unmanned aircraft systems, including drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) Level 1 – Civil Category, “ARE NOT qualified as strategic goods for national defense.”

As a result, the process is not included in the Annual Strategic Goods Procurement Plan (PACBE) nor in the Annual Investment Plan (PAI) of the current fiscal year. The reasoned report further specifies that the goods to be acquired are cataloged as Category I and that the budget corresponds to capital expenditure resources.

Special regime and a single pro forma

The market study, prepared by a commission designated via memorandum FA-JE-F-JE-F-A-2026-1007-MM dated September 8, 2026, set the reference budget at USD 1,085,000.00 excluding VAT. The only entity that submitted a pro forma within the deadline was the Aeronautical Industry Directorate of the Ecuadorian Air Force (DIAF), whose goods meet the required technical specifications.

For this reason, the process will be executed under the special regime between public entities provided for in numeral 6 of article 38 of the Organic Law of the National Public Procurement System, following the procedure in articles 140 and 141 of its General Regulation. Article 1 of the agreement covers the four phases: preparatory, pre-contractual, signing, and contractual or contract execution.

Financing and executing unit

Article 5 provides that the instrument governs from its signing, without prejudice to its publication in the Ministerial General Order and in the Official Registry, a process entrusted to the General Secretariat Directorate. The resources and execution structure are as follows:

• Capital expenditure of USD 1,085,000.00, assigned via budget reform type INTRA 1.
• Program 91 “Integral Security”, activity 002 “Execute Defense Operations in Integral Security”.
• Financing source 001, agency 000, correlative 000, and budget item 840104 “Machinery and Equipment”.
• Decentralized Operating Entity 070-2999 FAE Central Treasury, located in Quito, La Recoleta, E2 La Exposición street S4-71, RUC 1768017510001.

Article 4 places the responsibility for the information and the technical-economic justification on the officials who participated in the process, while Article 6 orders a certified copy to be sent to the general commander of the FAE.

The purchase places the Air Force at the forefront of an aerial surveillance acquisition of over one million dollars, in a context of pressure on border control and internal security. The file itself clarifies that the drones are not strategic defense assets; therefore, the operation will be executed under the special regime between public entities with the DIAF as the sole bidder, a scheme that concentrates technical and budgetary responsibility in the requesting unit and the FAE command.

Source: Official Registry, Supplement No. 395, Thursday, October 22, 2026, Section I (Executive Branch), p. 3 (official reference: Ministerial Agreement No. 382).