INDRA SISTEMAS SA

Their core work

Indra is Spain's leading IT and defence systems company, delivering critical technology for air traffic management (ATM), rail transport, and cybersecurity across Europe. In H2020, they are a dominant player in SESAR (the EU's ATM modernization programme) and Shift2Rail (the EU's rail innovation initiative), building systems for trajectory management, signalling, communication-navigation-surveillance, and intelligent freight. They also contribute to energy storage, cyber-physical systems, and space/GNSS applications, making them a multi-domain systems integrator for safety-critical infrastructure.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2014-2018, Indra focused on data integration and travel information platforms — keywords like 'semantic web', 'big data', 'travel companion', and 'one-stop travel shopping' dominated, reflecting IT-centric contributions to early Shift2Rail and SESAR phases. By 2019-2022, their work shifted decisively toward physical systems engineering and operational security: 'wagon design', 'running gears', 'condition-based maintenance', 'moving block', 'cybersecurity', and 'zero on-site testing' became dominant. This signals a move from software/data layer work into deeper systems integration and hardware-adjacent engineering for both rail and aviation.

Indra is moving from pure IT provider toward full systems integrator for safety-critical transport infrastructure, with growing emphasis on cybersecurity, digital twins, and drone/U-space management.

How they like to work

Indra overwhelmingly operates as a participant (81 of 96 projects), joining large multi-partner consortia rather than leading them — but when they do coordinate (12 projects), it is in high-value domains like ATM trajectory management and rail power systems. With 1,024 unique partners across 42 countries, they function as a hub organization: deeply networked, experienced in complex consortia, and comfortable working with diverse partners from academia, industry, and public agencies. Their sheer project volume and partner diversity make them a reliable, low-risk consortium partner for large-scale EU calls.

Indra has collaborated with 1,024 unique partners across 42 countries, making them one of the most broadly connected organizations in H2020 transport and digital programmes. Their network spans all major EU member states plus international partners, with particularly dense connections in the SESAR and Shift2Rail ecosystems.

What sets them apart

Indra is one of very few European companies that simultaneously operates at scale in both air traffic management and rail transport — two domains that rarely overlap in a single organization. This dual-domain presence, combined with deep cybersecurity capabilities, makes them uniquely positioned for projects requiring cross-modal transport integration or security-by-design in critical infrastructure. Their size (€75.5M in EC funding across 96 projects) and experience mean they bring institutional knowledge of EU programme mechanics that smaller partners cannot match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PJ18 4DTM
  Coordinated this €2.5M SESAR project on 4D trajectory management — a core building block of the Single European Sky.
• PJ14 EECNS
  Largest single EC contribution at €3.9M, developing the essential communication, navigation, and surveillance integrated system for European ATM.
• IT2RAIL
  €1.08M contribution to the foundational Shift2Rail project on multimodal travel information, showcasing Indra's early role in rail digitalization.