348 Vehicles – Programme Expected to Grow to 1,000
The Spanish MoD awarded a €1.74 billion contract on 25 August to a joint venture of General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas (GDELS-SBS) and three other companies for delivery of 348 DRAGÓN 8×8 armoured vehicles. The programme is expected to grow to as many as 1,000 vehicles in the long term.
The GDELS-SBS portion of the contract award amounts to €733 million, for delivery over a seven-year period. DRAGÓN (official designation VCR – the Spanish acronym for wheeled combat vehicle) is based on the GDELS PIRANHA V wheeled vehicles but incorporates all-Spanish technologies, as required by the MoD.
The GDELS-SBS JV will manufacture the 8×8 VCR at GDELS sites in Trubia and Seville, with the collaboration of the other Spanish JV members, including Indra Sistemas, Sapa Placencia and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering. The MoD mandated that Spanish industry participation must be no less than 70% of the total programme: the JV was established to ensure that all operational objectives and needs of the Army and the Spanish MoD are fully met and to fulfil the requirements of the government’s industrial plan. The GDELS-SBS participation in the programme will involve approximately 650 direct and 1,100 indirect employees.