The Guardian 2.0 remote turrets of the VCI Dragón armored vehicles of the Spanish Army

@DefAviation ES 8·25·2023 · 17:25 0

Little by little we are getting to know new images of the new Spanish Army Wheeled Combat Vehicles (VCR) Dragón.

The delivery of the first Dragon VCRs to the Spanish Army: this is how these vehicles are
A demonstration of the firepower of the Guardian 30 turret of the Spanish VCR Dragón

This Wednesday, August 23, the Spanish company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering published a new video showing its Guardian 2.0 remote turret, this time showing it mounted on a VCR Dragon, specifically in the VCI version (Infantry Fighting Vehicle):

As we saw in December of last year, the Guardian 2.0 remote turrets will equip two variants of the VCR Dragón: a part of the aforementioned VCI version (which totals 219 vehicles in the first phase) and the VCOAV (Forward Observer Combat Vehicle) version, with 8 units ordered. In both cases, the turrets will carry 12.7mm Browning M-2 heavy machine guns, a very veteran weapon but very effective as anti-vehicle and anti-personnel weapons.

Como podemos ver en el vídeo, la torreta va montada en la mitad derecha del vehículo, detrás del motor y delante del compartimento en el que va alojada la tropa.

On his website, Escribano indicates that the Guardian 2.0 "is a remotely controlled, two-axis gyro-stabilized weapon station that can be operated both day and night and mounted on different platforms or vehicles."

Escribano also points out that the turret can be equipped with different types of weapons, including 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm machine guns and 40 mm grenade launchers, as well as artifice launchers. On these lines we can see the version of the Guardian 2.0 turret with the aforementioned 12.7 mm Browning M-2 machine gun and, in addition, with 12 smoke grenade launchers. It is the version that will equip the VCI and VCOAV Dragon. Judging by its size, the ammunition box should have a capacity of 200 rounds.

In the photo above we can see the version of this turret equipped with a Mk-19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher. This version carries the same smoke grenade launchers as the version with the M-2 machine gun.

And here we see the version of the turret with an M-134 Minigun type Gatling cannon, caliber 7.62 mm.

In the video we can see the turret applied on different platforms. Above these lines, a VAMTAC ST-5, and below, a Multi-Utility Tactical Transport (MUTT), an unmanned vehicle manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), in this case a 6x6 version.