The long-delayed delivery of 40 VCR Dragón 8x8 armored vehicles to the Spanish Army

This Friday, the delivery of 40 Dragon wheeled combat vehicles (VCR) to the Spanish Army finally took place.

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The delivery took place at the "Álvarez de Sotomayor" Base of the Legion in Viator, Almería. "This vehicle meets the requirements of the General Staff and is adapted to operate in the most demanding scenarios, highlighting the significant commitment to and development of the safety of the vehicle and its occupants," the Ministry of Defense stated.

The number of different variants delivered has not been reported. Judging by the images, it appears to be 18 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) with Guardian 30 turrets (above), equipped with a 30mm main gun, a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, and 12 smoke grenade launchers, and some of them with Spike missile launchers. These are the ones seen on the left of the formation in two rows.

Apparently, the remaining 22 are combat engineer vehicles (VCZ), pictured above. They are equipped with a Mini Samson remote-controlled turret armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun. In the image, they are seen in the two rows on the right, most of them with a dozer blade at the front, although some carry other attachments for mine-clearing.

A day like this should be a happy one for the Spanish Army, but it can't be. In December 2024, we already discussed the problems with this project here. I pointed out then that the delivery of the first 40 vehicles was scheduled for 2014 and that by 2016 the fleet should have reached 300 units. The delays were largely due to political responsibilities.

As late as 2018, the government of Pedro Sánchez authorized the construction of 348 VCR Dragón vehicles, but the contract was not signed until August 2020, for an amount of 1.74 billion euros. It was said at the time that the delivery period would be seven years, leaving open a second phase of 365 vehicles with deliveries planned between 2026 and 2030, and a third phase with 285 vehicles between 2031 and 2035.

In December 2022, 12 vehicles were delivered: 7 of the engineer version and the 5 demonstrators used for program testing. And then the deliveries stopped or occurred in violation of the requirements established by the Army.

In 2024, Tess Defense (the consortium responsible for manufacturing the Dragon armored personnel carrier) committed to delivering 94 vehicles, but delivered none. It's worth remembering that delivery includes not only making the vehicle available to the operator, but also verifying that each vehicle meets the established requirements.

As DefensaySeguridad.es pointed out in October, Indra (which has now taken over the project) committed to delivering 70 vehicles in 2025. This wasn't even the 94 promised for 2024, which hadn't arrived. Now, in mid-January 2026, only 40 vehicles are arriving. It's disappointing. This program is giving a sorry image of the Spanish defense industry, an industry that—as happens in other areas—is suffering the consequences of political colonization with increasingly worse effects for Spain.

Given the delays, serious penalties should have been imposed long ago on the companies involved in this project for their constant failure to meet delivery commitments, and the viability of the VCR Dragón should even have been seriously considered, given the problems with this project and the changes that have taken place in the defense sector since its inception over a decade ago, which should lead to questioning whether an 8x8 vehicle from this year is ideal for the Spanish Army. But neither has been done.

Anyway, I hate to be a spoilsport, but what's happening with the Dragon VCR isn't normal. I'll leave you with more pictures from today's handover ceremony, published by the Ministry of Defense.

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Photos: Ministerio de Defensa de España.