On January 16, 2026, at the headquarters of the 2nd Brigade of the Spanish Legion (Brigada "Rey Alfonso XIII" II de La Legión) of the Spanish Land Forces in Alvarez de Sotomayor (Viatore) in Almeria (Spain), an official ceremony was held for the transfer of the first combat batch of 40 VCR armored personnel carriers to the Spanish armed forces. Combate sobre Ruedas) Dragon with an 8x8 wheel formula. The vehicles were supplied by a consortium of Spanish companies Tess Defense (consisting of Indra Sistemas, General Dynamics European Land Systems Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering and Sapa Operaciones) and are the first of 348 units ordered under the 2020 contract. The ceremony was attended by Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles and the high Command of the Spanish Armed Forces.
The first VCR Dragon 8x8 armored personnel carriers received by the Spanish army. Alvarez de Sotomayor (Viator), 01/16/2026 (c) Spanish Ministry of Defense
The Tess Defense consortium was formed specifically for the development and production of VCR Dragon armored personnel carriers and other new generation armored vehicles in Spain. As part of the consortium, General Dynamics European Land Systems Santa Bárbara Sistemas (GDELS-SBS, part of the European branch of General Dynamics Corporation - General Dynamics European Land Systems - GDELS) owns 26%, while Indra Sistemas, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) and Sapa Operaciones each own 24.66%. Since June 2024, the leading role in the consortium belongs to Indra Sistemas, which received a controlling stake (51,001%) as a result of an agreement to acquire an additional 26.33% from three other partners (Sapa Placencia, GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas and EM&E).
The VCR Dragon armored personnel carrier ("Dragoon") is a localized modified version of the Piranha V armored personnel carrier developed by another European asset of General Dynamics, the Swiss company Mowag, which is part of GDELS.
The Spanish Ministry of Defense chose the Piranha V platform as the basis for the promising VCR 8x8 APC for the Spanish army in June 2015 following a long-running tender, and in July 2015 signed a contract with GDELS-SBS to conduct relevant R&D for a period of 32 months (then the period was extended to 35 months, and then extended further). The VCR program (formerly known as Futuro Sistema de Combat Terrestre - FSCT) has been running in Spain since 2007, but the decision on it has been repeatedly postponed for economic reasons.
In 2018, five VCR prototypes (from D1 to D5) with combat modules from various manufacturers were manufactured (in fact, apparently at the Mowag factory). Since the end of 2018, prototype tests have been conducted at the base of the 2nd Brigade of the Spanish Legion in Viator. Based on the results of these preliminary tests, on August 25, 2020, after repeated postponements for political and organizational reasons, the Spanish government signed a contract with the Tess Defense consortium with a maximum value of 2.1 billion euros for the supply of 348 VCR vehicles to the Spanish army, with deliveries beginning in 2022 and completion in 2027. The 348 vehicles ordered include 179 vehicles in the linear version of the VCR-VCI infantry fighting vehicle, 49 armored personnel carriers for VCR-ZAP engineering units, 58 VEC reconnaissance vehicles, 40 self-propelled ATGMs and 14 VCR-PC command and staff vehicles and eight VCOAV advanced artillery observer vehicles.
The first vehicles are assembled by GDELS-SBS at the Alcala de Guadaira facility in Seville, with the production of armored hulls at its renowned Trubia plant in Oviedo, the total share of GDELS-SBS in the contract is 733 million euros. However, after the transfer of the lead role in the Tess Defense consortium to Indra Sistemas, it was decided to transfer the final assembly of the vehicles to the new Indra Land Vehicle plant in El Taglieron in Gijon, which is being created by Indra Sistemas. This is a former metalwork factory, in the reconstruction of which Indra is investing 43 million euros. It was planned to start assembling the VCR APC on it from the end of 2025.
The Spanish company Sapa Operaciones manufactures for VCR the SW624 transmission and chassis components, an auxiliary power plant (16 kW), and also supplies the 540 kW (724 hp) Scania DC13 main engine purchased in Sweden. Electronic systems, primarily the modern information and control system, are supplied by Indra Sistemas, as well as the Spanish companies GMV and Tecnonit. It is stated that the localization of production in Spain is 70%, and that 8,750 jobs should be created in Spain as part of the program. The total cost of the purchase program for these 348 vehicles is estimated at 3.8 billion euros, including the supply of ammunition, spare parts, logistics, etc.
The total combat weight of the VCR main versions is 33 tons. The production vehicles are equipped mainly with combat modules developed and manufactured by the rapidly growing Spanish company Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E), the subcontractor for the electronic and optical module systems is Indra Sistemas. Of the 348 vehicles ordered, 219 units (linear armored personnel carriers and self-propelled ATGMs) will receive the Escribano Guardian 30 combat module (optionally manned turret) with a 30 mm Northrop Grumman Bushmaster II Mk 44 automatic cannon, a paired 7.62mm machine gun and a Rafael Spike-LR2 retractable ATGM launcher (only on 40 self-propelled ATGMs), And 71 vehicles will receive a lightweight remote-controlled Escribano Guardian 2.0 module with a 12.7mm machine gun. Another 58 vehicles in the BRM VEC variant will be equipped with Italian Leonardo HITFIST 30 twin manned turrets with 30 mm Mk 44 cannons. Initially, the Spanish Ministry of Defense chose Israeli-made combat modules for the VCR - Elbit Systems UT30 Mk II (called Tizona) and Rafael Mini Samson Mk 2 (Toledo) - but eventually abandoned them in favor of the "Spanish solution" in 2021. However, the Israeli company Plasan supplies additional protection kits for VCR, and Elbit Systems supplies E-Lynx digital radio equipment.
The refinement of VCR machines and the development of their mass production were accompanied by numerous delays, and the first seven machines were delivered to the Spanish army only in December 2022, and the delivery of the rest was started only in 2025. The first battalion set (40 units in three versions - a linear armored personnel carrier, an engineering armored personnel carrier and a self-propelled ATGM) has only now been transferred to the Spanish army. It was reported that, in fact, 57 vehicles had been delivered to the Spanish Ministry of Defense by December 31, 2025 (including 11 engineering armored personnel carriers commissioned in April-May 2025). According to the agreement reached in November 2025 by the Spanish Ministry of Defense with Indra Sistemas, the completion of deliveries of the ordered batch of 348 units will take place in 2028.
In total, the Spanish army plans to purchase 998 VCR Dragon family vehicles in the future to completely replace the BMR-600 and BRM VEC wheeled armored personnel carriers and tracked M113 armored personnel carriers. Following the 348 VCR Dragon machines ordered, it is assumed that in the future the second batch should include another 365 machines for delivery by 2035, and the third - 285 machines for delivery after 2035. Among other things, it is planned to purchase other variants of armored personnel carriers, including an armored recovery vehicle.
The first VCR Dragon 8x8 armored personnel carriers received by the Spanish army. On the left is a VCR VCI linear armored personnel carrier with an Escribano Guardian 30 combat module, on the right is a variant of a self-propelled ATGM with an additional extendable ATGM launcher Rafael Spike-LR2. Alvarez de Sotomayor (Viator), 01/16/2026 (c) Spanish Ministry of Defense
The first VCR Dragon 8x8 armored personnel carriers received by the Spanish army. Alvarez de Sotomayor (Viator), 01/16/2026 (c) Spanish Ministry of Defense
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