GDELS readying for full-rate VCR 8×8 production

The Spanish Secretary of State for Defense, Angel Olivares, on 17 June chaired a meeting to follow up on the “Dragón” Vehiculo de Combate sobre Ruedas (VCR), or Combat Vehicle on Wheels, program which was held at the General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Barbara Sistemas Factory in Alcalá de Guadaira ( Seville).

Angel Olivares, said to the press that the VCR 8×8 “is one of the essential pillars on which National Defense is based and without it that the Armed Forces could not participate in international peacekeeping operations.” And he stressed that this program “is a strategic and inalienable objective for Spain”.

The program will have a special impact in Asturias, Seville, Guipúzcoa and Madrid, where it is expected to create 650 direct jobs and another 1,000 indirect ones.

The meeting brought together high representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the General Directorate of Armament and Material (DGAM), the Army and the companies that make up the society that manages these technological programs, Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Indra Sistemas and Sapa Placencia.

The delegation has been able to see the degree of progress of the demonstrators and has walked the assembly line of the five prototypes of the VCR 8×8 installed in one of the factory’s workshops, which is at full capacity, respecting the prevention measures. related to the Covid-19.

They then witnessed a dynamic demonstration of the 8×8 VCRs on the test track and verified the maturity of the designs and their performance in a display of mobility and power. The first two demonstrators are scheduled to carry out shooting tests in early July.

The meeting was attended by the Chief of the Army General Staff, Army General Francisco Javier Varela; the general director of Armament and Material, admiral Santiago Ramón González and the deputy director to the DGAM, general Francisco Javier Abajo.

The CEO of GDELS-SBS also participated; Juan Escriña, the executive director general director of Transport and Defense of Indra, Ignacio Mataix; and the CEO of Sapa, Ibon Aperribay.

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