A close-up view of a Spanish Army RG-31 Mk5E Nyala MRAP armored vehicle

At the end of May, on Armed Forces Day in Vigo, I had the opportunity to take many photos and videos that I have not yet published.

The military vehicles on display in Vigo to mark Spanish Armed Forces Day
The RG-31 Nyala armored ambulance donated by Spain to Ukraine and its current appearance

Now in August, when there is usually less military activity, I will take the opportunity to publish some of that material. I will start with the RG-31 Mk5E Nyala armored personnel carrier displayed by the 7th Field Artillery Group (GACA VII) of the 7th Brigade "Galicia" (BRILAT) of the Spanish Army, based in Figueirido, Pontevedra.

The RG-31 Mk5E Nyala (you can see it inside and in motion above) is a vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Land Systems OMC in South Africa. It is a 4x4 vehicle, 6.4 meters long, 2.47 meters wide, and 2.63 meters high.

The vehicle weighs 13,940 kg and has a payload of 3,060 kg. In this photo of the left side of the vehicle, you can see a black box with its specifications (click on the images to enlarge them; they are very high resolution).

In 2007 Spain acquired 150 RG-31s ​​of a Spanishized version of the Mk5 variant, designated Mk5E. Of the 150 units acquired, 85 are the personnel carrier variant, 10 are the ambulance version and 5 are the command post version.

The vehicles were assembled in Spain by General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas at its factory in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville), using materials shipped from South Africa. A Spanish RG-31 ambulance version was donated to Ukraine in March 2022, where it was fitted with cage armor providing some protection against RPG-type rocket-propelled grenades.

The RG-31 Mk5E is equipped with a 6.7-liter, 6-cylinder Cummins QSB diesel engine, mounted at the front of the vehicle. It has a 5-speed automatic transmission, a top speed of 98 km/h, a range of 70 km, and the ability to climb gradients of up to 60%.

The vehicle shown in these photos is the command version. The personnel carrier version has space for nine occupants (a vehicle commander, a driver, a turret operator, and six soldiers). The command version has space for six occupants: a vehicle commander, a driver, and four crew members in the rear. It has seats on the left side of the rear compartment and work tables on the right.

As is typical of MRAP vehicles, it's a high-profile vehicle with a small interior, since space is prioritized for occupant protection. The sound is literally that of a truck, as you can hear in the video I've included at the beginning.

The RG-31 on display in Vigo features a Mini Samson RCWS remote-controlled turret, manufactured by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. It is equipped with a 12.7 mm Browning M2HB heavy machine gun and a 400-round ammunition box, located on the left side.

In front of the machine gun, we can see a rotating beacon, used to provide better visibility of the vehicle while driving on the road. In the ambulance version, in addition to this rotating beacon, the vehicle also incorporates an emergency siren, located just behind it.

The electro-optical systems of the Mini Samson RCWS turret, located to the right of the machine gun, are very sophisticated and include a high-resolution day camera, an infrared thermal camera (for low visibility conditions) and a laser rangefinder.

The RG-31 has an electric winch on its front, for self-recovery and assistance tasks in difficult terrain.

The cabin is equipped with air conditioning and heating, so that the occupants can withstand different types of weather environments inside a vehicle that is not exactly known for having ventilation openings while driving.

The vehicle's roof has two observation hatches at the rear, which also serve as emergency evacuation hatches. Here we see one of these hatches closed (on the right) and the other open (on the left).

The driver's and commander's doors of the vehicle are equipped with gas cylinders, in order to facilitate their opening due to the weight of the armor.

The rear of the vehicle has a wide door that opens to the right to allow entry to the rear compartment.

Here we see the interior of the rear compartment. On the left we can see the screen and the machine gun turret controls.

All the vehicle's windows are armored, which explains their great thickness. The vehicle has armor plates to protect its crew, and its monocoque design is engineered to withstand landmine blasts and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

You can see more photos of this vehicle on my Flickr account and in the following slideshow. The photos were taken especially with model enthusiasts in mind: