General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas (GDELS-SBS) presents the Engineering Combat Vehicle (ECV) for the first time at the International Fair of Defence and Security (FEINDEF) in Madrid. This is the last version of the ASCOD/Pizarro Family of vehicles, built for the Spanish Ministry of Defence. The Engineering Combat Vehicle is a tracked armored vehicle that has been commissioned by the Spanish Ministry of Defense. It complements the different variants already delivered as part of Phases I and II of the Pizarro Program, in total 225 vehicles. The ECV offers the Spanish Army with a unique capacity since it has a flexible automated system installed in a single vehicle, allowing the installation of different equipment required for each specific mission (dozer blade, track wide mine plough, mine roller, obstacle marking systems, and winch). In addition to its specific mission equipment, it provides the highest international standards in terms of protection (anti-mine and ballistic), as well as maintaining the excellent mobility, which has always been the international hallmark of ASCOD.
The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) armoured fighting vehicle family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG and Spanish General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas (both companies are now divisions of a unit of General Dynamics). The ASCOD family includes the LT 105, a light tank equipped with a 105 mm gun, a SAM launcher, an anti-tank missile launcher, mortar carrier, R&R vehicle, Command & Control vehicle, ambulance, artillery observer, and the AIFV model. In Spanish service, the vehicle is called Pizarro, while the Austrian version is called Ulan. General Dynamics European Land Systems – Santa Barbara Systems is the original designer and manufacturer as well as systems integrator of the base platform. This fact has allowed the Engineering Combat Vehicle to have an important growth capacity. Since its initial conception, the platform was designed and equipped with physical pre-installations to integrate the main mission teams that the Spanish Army could require in the future (LSAS, BMS, communications, protection, etc.).
