The UME tenders seven remote-controlled intervention machines for 1.73 million

The Military Emergencies Unit (UME) has opened a tender for the acquisition of seven remote-controlled automotive intervention machines, a contract with an estimated value of 1,735,531.00 euros. The tender announcement is signed by the Head of the UME Economic Affairs Section, under the Ministry of Defense, and is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 265, dated October 26, 2026, section V-A, pages 56552 to 56554, with reference BOE-B-2026-34880.

Open procedure and award criteria

The contract is processed via an open procedure and does not allow for variants. The file number is 2026/SP03038000/00003263E and the assigned CPV code is 42418900 (loading or handling machinery). The primary delivery location for the supplies is mainland Spain, with NUTS code ES300.

The evaluation of bids is divided between two criteria, both assessable via formulas:

• Price: 60% of the weighting.
• Warranty extension: 40% of the weighting.

Bidders must prove their legal capacity to act, an annual turnover figure backed by the latest annual accounts filed with the Mercantile Registry, and a list of the main supplies executed in the last three years, including amount, date, and recipient.

Calendar: bids until November 19

The calendar set in the announcement concentrates the milestones in less than six weeks:

• Deadline for submission of bids: until 18:59 hours on November 19, 2026, with the possibility of electronic submission.
• Opening of the administrative envelope: November 20, 2026, at 10:00, in the assembly hall of the SAE UME, at the Torrejón Air Base (Autovía A-2, km 21, Torrejón de Ardoz).
• Opening of the technical and economic bid: November 26, 2026, at 10:00, at the same location.
• Contract duration: from January 1, 2027, with a validity of eleven months and a maximum execution period ending on November 30, 2027.
• Bid maintenance: one year.
• Appeal period: 15 business days from the notification of the award, before the UME Head of Economic Affairs.

Both opening sessions are private. The announcement was sent to the Official Journal of the European Union on October 20, 2026, and to the BOE on October 21, and is signed by the head of the Economic Affairs Section, José Luis Seijo Asorey.

Third purchase of this type of machinery in three years

The tender continues a series of acquisitions that the UME has been carrying out since 2024 to equip itself with unmanned intervention machinery. In 2024, it formalized the purchase of four remote-controlled machines for emergencies plus five sets of attachments, awarded on August 30 of that year for 953,000.00 euros to SVMAC Ingeniería Sistemas y Vehículos, S.L., according to announcement BOE-B-2024-35058 (BOE no. 239, of October 3, 2024).

In 2025, it repeated the formula with five machines and five sets of attachments—four in the case of the lifting attachment—awarded on June 27, 2025, for 1,159,500.00 euros to the same company, in accordance with announcement BOE-B-2025-28094 (BOE no. 184, of August 1, 2025). Both contracts were processed via a negotiated procedure without publicity, justified by the need to expand material from a purchase already made, and received a single bid.

The new file increases the figure to seven units and changes the object: they are no longer described as machines “for emergencies” with sets of attachments, but as remote-controlled “intervention” machines, with an estimated amount 50% higher than the 2025 award.

A niche market for specialized suppliers

The contract is of interest to manufacturers and distributors of emergency machinery, a segment with few operators in Spain and a history of awards to a single bidder. The combination of an eleven-month execution period and delivery concentrated in mainland Spain requires supply and after-sales support capacity, a point reinforced by the announcement by assigning 40% of the weight to the warranty extension compared to 60% for the price. For the UME, these machines are critical equipment in forest fires and catastrophes, where they allow for remote intervention in environments that are risky for personnel.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 265, of October 26, 2026, section V-A (Announcements. Public Sector Procurement), pp. 56552-56554 (official reference: BOE-B-2026-34880).