The Spanish website Infodefensa reported that the Spanish Ministry of Defense (Ministerio de Defensa) has chosen the Guardian turret of Spanish company Escribano Mechanical & Engineering SL as the remote-controlled weapon station for the Spanish Army’s 8×8 Dragon wheeled combat vehicles. 219 Dragon vehicles of various variants will be equipped with the Guardian turret, which includes a 30mm cannon, under a deal valued at about 200 million euros. Escribano’s Guardian turret was selected over that of Pap Tecnos, a Spanish subsidiary of Rafael, and that of a joint venture of Elbit with Spanish companies Navantia and Expal.
Escribano’s Guardian 30, specially designed for the new current Spanish Army project VCR 8×8 Dragon vehicle. Escribano’s advanced manufacturing capability has allowed Guardian 30 to be a really lightweight station when compared with its competitors. Highly customizable because of its modular architecture, the design makes maintenance easier and increases its reliability. Escribano’s land system, Guardian 30, incorporates as main gun an ATK Orbital MK 44S. The shooting system is assisted by two next-gen electro-optical systems based in the well-known OTEOS electro-optical system technology developed by ESCRIBANO.
The vehicle General Dynamics European Land Systems offered for the Spanish Army in cooperation with Santa Bárbara Sistemas is based on the company’s Piranha 5 vehicle. It was expected to be delivered to the Spanish armed forces in 13 different configurations. However, the actual number of configurations, as well as the number of vehicles to be delivered, is likely to be determined once the contract is awarded later this year. The Piranha V Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) is one variant of the fifth generation of the Mowag Piranha family of vehicles. It was designed by General Dynamics European Land Systems – Mowag GmbH.
After aborting the Vehiculo de Combate sobre Ruedas (VCR) 8×8 wheeled combat vehicle program late last year, the Spanish defense ministry is relaunching the procedure under new conditions. The Vehiculo de Combate sobre Ruedas (VCR) or “Dragón” program was brought to a halt in December 2019, when the defense ministry rejected an offer from General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas, in what was interpreted by many as a bid by the defense ministry to secure a better offer. The Spain defense ministry announced that it has authorized the establishment of a limited company, made up of Spanish companies Indra Sistemas SA, Santa Bárbara Sistemas SA, Sapa Placencia SL and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering SL, for the sole purpose of implementing the VCR 8×8 program.
.