The Spanish Legion receives new Iturri VMTT Landtrek and Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles

Twenty-one years have passed since the problematic Aníbal was selected as the all-rounder for the Spanish Army, and his replacement is finally beginning to arrive.

The new IDV M250 armored trucks of the Spanish Army in the Canary Islands
VMTT: the difficult challenges of the substitute for Santana Aníbal in the Spanish Army

Two years ago, the Army launched a competition to acquire 4,500 units of a new Tactical All-Terrain Military Vehicle (TMMT). One ​​of the options was the Urovesa VAMTAC LTV, an all-terrain vehicle specifically made for military use, but the winner of the competition was ultimately a modified commercial all-terrain vehicle that wasn't even sold in Spain: the Peugeot Landtrek, actually a Chinese all-terrain vehicle, the Changan Hunter, but bearing the French company's emblem.

The Landtrek was the cheapest option compared to its competitor, the Ford Ranger, manufactured in the United States. I hope we don't see a repeat of what happened two decades ago with the selection of the Aníbal instead of the Urovesa Uro VAM-TL, a vehicle that, ironically, ended up being purchased by the Moroccan Army while the Spanish Army embarked on a succession of constant problems with the Santana model, a Spanish version of the Land Rover Defender, but of lower quality.

This week, the first Landtreks have begun arriving at two units of the Spanish Legion, the Tercio "Gran Capitán" No. 1 based in Melilla and the Tercio "Duque de Alba" No. 2 based in Ceuta. They have been chosen as reference units for the testing period of the new light vehicle, which is above all an advantage for the vehicle, since due to the small size of Ceuta and Melilla, both vehicles will not have the opportunity to cover great distances there to be tested.

These first three images are of the vehicles that arrived in Ceuta. They were released yesterday by the General Command of Ceuta (COMGECEU) through its Twitter account.

These other three photos are of the first three Landtreks that arrived in Melilla. They were published this Friday by the General Command of Melilla (COMGEMEL) on its Twitter account, stating: "They reinforce the mobility, versatility and operational capacity of the unit."

I know this article will be read by people with experience in off-roading. I encourage you to share your opinion in the comments about this model and what we can see in these images.

Curiously, this Friday the COMGEMEL also reported on the arrival of new Toyota Land Cruiser 200 BN6 all-terrain vehiclesto the 1st Tercio "Gran Capitán" of the Legion. The three vehicles we see in the images are painted white and have wading tubes and Army license plates.

According to COMGEMEL, these Land Cruisers will serve "to improve their preparation for Operation A/I", that is, support for Iraq. The Land Cruiser is a very popular off-road vehicle in many countries and has a notable advantage: spare parts are easy to find in many places. In fact, some special operations vehicles are based on different versions of the Land Cruiser to take advantage of this advantage, such as the Jankel Fox LRPV (Long Range Patrol Vehicle) used by the Special Operations Command (MOE).

The Spanish Army has already used civilian-looking all-terrain vehicles, such as these three Land Cruisers, in some operations, so that soldiers can go more unnoticed.

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Photos: Comandancia General de Ceuta / Comandancia General de Melilla.