Military programs

Her department approved major defence projects like upgrading the budget of the S-80 submarines by € 1.8 billion,^[18] and another billion for the modernization of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook of the Army which added to other military projects, in her first 3 months in office she approved investments worth 5 billion.^[19]

On 4 September 2018 the Ministry of Defence announced that it was considering cancelling a major contract with Saudi Arabia consisting in 400 laser-guided bombs because of the possible use of these weapons in the Yemeni War.^[20] However, a few days later the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister itself confirmed that the contract would go ahead to avoid a possible diplomatic conflict with Saudi Arabia that could put at risk Navantia's 2 billion contract.^[21]

In October that year, when the assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi was discovered the international community rapidly reproached this event and some European countries like Germany cancelled its military contracts with Saudi Arabia and called for the rest of EU countries to do the same,^[22] a petition that was ignored by those countries including Spain, in order to protect thousands of jobs that said military contract generates.^[23] A month later both countries created a joint venture to build five corvettes.^[24]

On 14 December 2018 the Council of Ministers approved Minister Robles' plan to build five new F110 class frigates to replace the old Santa María class, 348 battle vehicles and upgrading the Eurofighter jet worth € 7.3 billion to be paid over the next 15 years.^[25]

On 30 January 2019 she accompanied King Felipe VI on his trip to Iraq to mark the King's 51st birthday. They visited the contingent of more than 300 Spanish soldiers from the Besmayah "Gran Capitán" base.^[26]

On 23 March 2021 the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the minister, approved increasing the salary of military personnel.^[27] It was the first salary increase for these personnel since 2005.^[28] Months later, on 29 June that year, the Council of Ministers authorized three new projects to strengthen the aeronautical sector. Specifically, the financing of the second phase of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) was approved, as well as the acquisition of three A330 MRTT aircraft for the Air Force and, together with the Ministry of the Interior, the acquisition of H135 and H160 helicopters; all this valued at more than 3.5 billion euros.^[29][30]

COVID-19 pandemic

In March 2020, the Prime Minister designated her as one of the four delegated authorities in charge of direct management of the health crisis of COVID-19.^[31] For this task, under her direction, Robles appointed the JEMAD, Miguel Ángel Villarroya Vilalta, as sole command of all the measures that his department carried out.^[32]

During the health crisis, her department mainly deployed the Military Emergencies Unit (UME), which was responsible for the disinfection of thousands of retirement homes^[33] as well as other public places such as train stations, ports and airports.^[34][35] At the same time, different military, naval and air police units were also deployed to collaborate with the law enforcement agencies in public security tasks.^[36]

At the end of March, Robles publicly denounced abandoned, and sometimes dead, elderly people in some of the retirement homes that the UME had disinfected.^[37] The head of the Military Emergencies Unit, Luis Manuel Martínez Meijide, stated shortly after that these cases were "very punctual".^[38]

On 27 April Robles addressed the Defense Committee of the Congress of Deputies to explain the management that his department was carrying out. Margarita Robles praised the task of the Armed Forces, to which she attributed all the successes, and assumed "exclusively" all the errors that would have been committed as her own.^[39]

Due to her management in this crisis, the popularity of the minister soared, achieving an approval rating of close to 68%, the highest in a minister in decades.^[40]

Afghanistan crisis

Following the fall of Kabul and the subsequent de facto creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister offered Spain as a hub for Afghans who collaborated with the European Union, which would later be settled in various countries.^[41] The Spanish government created a temporary refugee camp in the air base of Torrejón de Ardoz, which was later visited by the highest officials from the European Union.^[42] Other two Spanish bases, Rota and Morón, where also prepared to temporarily accommodate Afghan refugees from the United States.^[43][44] During this operation, the Spanish Armed Forces used four Airbus A400M Atlas as well as civil resources from the Air Europa airline to evacuate Spanish diplomats, nationals and Afghan citizens.^[45][46] The security team of the embassy, composed by 17 police officers from the GEO (special operations) and UIP (experts in mass control and VIP security), were responsible for locating and taking the collaborators to a safe place.^[47] Days later, the Spanish Army Special Operations Command (green berets) were also deployed in the Afghan capital.^[48]