{"id":59102,"date":"2025-03-27T21:45:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T20:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=59102"},"modified":"2026-03-27T01:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T00:30:25","slug":"spain-manages-to-load-a-vcr-dragon-armored-vehicle-on-an-a400m-plane-of-the-31st-wing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/03\/27\/spain-manages-to-load-a-vcr-dragon-armored-vehicle-on-an-a400m-plane-of-the-31st-wing\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain manages to load a VCR Dragon armored vehicle on an A400M plane of the 31st Wing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Spanish Air Force today resolved one of the questions that existed regarding the Spanish Army's Dragon Wheeled Combat Vehicle (RCV).<\/p>\n

The problems of the Spanish VCR Drag\u00f3n 8x8 armoured vehicle: a project under threat?<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe new VCR Drag\u00f3n armored vehicle of the Spanish Army and the controversy over its size<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

In December 2022, I pointed out here<\/a> some doubts about the capacity of the Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft to transport the Dragon VCR<\/strong>, in light of information that estimated the weight of this vehicle at 35 tons, since the A400M ramp only supports a weight of 32 tons. Such a drawback would significantly limit the deployment capacity of these vehicles<\/strong> in operations in the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands, as well as abroad.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

This morning, the Air Transport Load Assessment Cell (CECTA) of the Air Mobility Headquarters of the Spanish Air Force has carried out a real load test of a Dragon VCR to certify its air transport in the A400M<\/a>. The Air Force has indicated that this test is \"the most complex project undertaken to date by CECTA<\/strong>. This validation certifies the future air transport of the wheeled combat vehicle, managed by TESS Defence, on an Air and Space Force aircraft.\"<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"This complex maneuver took place at the Zaragoza air base<\/strong>\"<\/em>, the Spanish Air Force said. \"There, the load supervisors of the 31st Wing and the personnel of the Air Transport Support Section have provided their support for a validation that meets one of the requirements prior to delivery to the final user of the vehicle<\/strong>, in this case the Army.\"<\/em> The test was carried out with the A400M TK.23-09 (31-29)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The version of the VCR used in this test is the Sapper Combat Vehicle (VCZ)<\/strong>, of which the Army expects the delivery of 58 units. This VCZ is equipped with a Mini Samson remote-controlled turret<\/strong> armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun. CECTA has concluded that in its combat configuration, this vehicle \"can be transported on a single aircraft and be operational at the destination point<\/strong>\"<\/em>, that is, without dismantling the turret.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\"During the feasibility study for the Dragon's air transport, CECTA faced several challenges<\/strong>,\"<\/em> according to the Spanish Air Force. \"On the one hand, the dimensions and weight of the vehicle<\/strong> meant it was necessary to identify the necessary tie-down points to secure it inside the aircraft with the necessary safety criteria. On the other hand, it was verified that the vehicle's weight complied with all the aircraft's limitations<\/strong>, both during the loading process and during the flight. Finally, a simulation of the air transport mission was carried out with the aircraft's planning teams<\/strong>, to confirm that it could be executed within the established safety limits.\"<\/em><\/p>\n

---<\/p>\n

Photos: Tess Defense<\/a> \/ Ej\u00e9rcito del Aire<\/a>.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Spanish Air Force today resolved one of the questions that existed regarding the Spanish Army’s Dragon Wheeled Combat Vehicle (RCV).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19536,11544],"tags":[24081,8244,5923,11875,10557,14093,19189],"class_list":["post-59102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-we-said-yesterday","category-army","tag-air-transport-cargo-assessment-cell-cecta","tag-airbus-a400m-atlas","tag-ala-31","tag-spanish-air-force","tag-spanish-army","tag-vcr-dragon","tag-zaragoza-air-base"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59102"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59102\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}