Major General Antonio Armada Vázquez has been appointed Director for Industry, Synergies and Enablers at the European Defence Agency (EDA), while Gianluca Serra has been promoted to lead its Corporate Services Directorate.
Armada Vázquez took up the role on 1 June 2026, the EDA announced on Monday.
The senior Spanish Army officer most recently served as Director of the Army War and Leadership College in Madrid.
His previous posts include Director of the Infantry Academy in Toledo, as well as senior roles at Eurocorps Headquarters and within the EU Training Mission in Somalia.
Armada Vázquez said a “strong and resilient European defence technological and industrial base” — the network of companies and technologies that supply military equipment — was needed and described defence industry as a “strategic capability”.
Serra became Director of EDA’s Corporate Services Directorate on 16 May 2026.
The role covers functions including human resources, procurement, finance, IT, security, infrastructure and legal affairs.
Procurement and corporate support
Serra previously worked at eu-LISA — the EU agency that manages large-scale IT systems — and in EU civilian missions in Georgia and Afghanistan.
Since 2022, he had been the directorate’s deputy director and head of the Procurement & Contract Unit, including work on a joint procurement initiative for 155mm artillery ammunition.
Serra declared corporate services were essential to enabling collaborative procurement and innovation activities.
EDA Chief Executive André Denk said the two appointments would strengthen the agency’s ability to support EU member states in delivering defence capabilities and cooperation.
