Spain's possibilities of manufacturing its own tank to replace the Leopard 2E

Spain has a significant defense industry, which includes the manufacture of armored ground vehicles in domestic factories.

The M-10 Booker light tank of the US Army, a vehicle with a Spanish ancestor
EMBT: this is the European main battle tank that could replace the Spanish Leopardo 2E

Infodefensa reports today that the Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, has stated that Spain continues to aspire to participate in the MGCS (Main Ground Combat System) project, also known as EMBT (European Main Battle Tank), un proyecto presentado en 2022 y promovido por Alemania y Francia.

The main problem with the MGCS is the French obstacles to Spain's entry into the project, to the point of not having responded to the Spanish government's request to participate in the program, as defensayseguridad.es recalled today. From this site, a statement is also made that encourages me to write this article: "There are other cars, other possible partners and there is also, why not, the possibility of creating something of your own (it's not crazy at all)".

Well no, it's not crazy at all. In fact, the strange thing is that Spain hasn't developed any of its own tanks since the Trubia A4, a 1928 tank based on the French Renault FT-17 that was in service with the Spanish Army between 1929 and 1939, with only four units being built. Let's also remember the Lince project that emerged in the 1980s, with the aim of replacing the Spanish Army's aging M-47 and M-48 Pattons. It would have been a tank similar to the Leopard 2, slightly lighter (49 tons) and with a 120 mm Rheinmetall L/44 cannon, the model used by the Leopard 2A4. The project was cancelled due to the purchase of M-60 tanks and, finally, the Leopard 2.

Despite this limited experience in developing its own tanks, it is worth remembering that the Spanish industry produced the French AMX-30 and the current Leopard 2E, the Spanish variant of the German Leopard 2A6, under license. In both cases, the vehicles were manufactured by Santa Bárbara Sistemas, which was purchased in 2001 by the American company General Dynamics, which today retains that Spanish brand as part of General Dynamics Land Systems (GDELS). Thus, Spain does not lack the knowledge to develop its own tank.

Currently, GDELS develops various types of armored vehicles. Most of them are wheeled, such as the Piranha and the Pandur, but only one of them is tracked, the ASCOD, with a chassis specially designed for infantry fighting vehicles. However, GDELS developed the Griffin II light tank based on the ASCOD. Obviously, it is not the type of tank that Spain needs, but it demonstrates the possibilities of developing a main battle tank to replace the Leopard 2E.

However, the potential for such a project has certain drawbacks. One of them is that General Dynamics is the manufacturer of the M1 Abrams, the American main battle tank that competes with models like the Leopard 2. Therefore, that company has no reason to develop a new tank: it would be cheaper to sell the Abrams to Spain.

Furthermore, On March 20, 2025, GDELS and KNDS signed an agreement for the modernization of the Spanish Leopard 2E. This agreement, which has not yet received funding approval from the Spanish government, would include the Israeli-made Rafael Trophy active protection system. This system is implemented in the most recent versions of the Leopard 2 and the M1 Abrams.

However, the decision by the Spanish left to impose an arms embargo on Israel would leave both the Leopard 2E and a future Spanish tank without that system. A month ago, the Spanish company Indra successfully tested its own system, the Nemus, on a Leopard 2A4. It would be a possible alternative for a project like this.

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Main photo: Ejército de Tierra.