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Spain Launches €261M Modernization of Pizarro Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Advance Army Fleet.
Spain’s Council of Ministers authorized a €261.8 million contract to modernize the Army’s Pizarro infantry and cavalry fighting vehicles, focusing on the older Phase I fleet and aligning capabilities with Phase II. The move tightens readiness, standardizes the tracked fleet, and anchors work in domestic industry through November 30, 2031.
On 29 October 2025, Spain’s Council of Ministers authorized a €261.8 million contract to upgrade the Army’s oldest Pizarro infantry and cavalry fighting vehicles, extending their service life and closing the gap with newer models. The decision comes amid a wider effort to raise readiness, standardize fleets and reinforce domestic industry. It matters because the Pizarro is a backbone of Spain’s mechanized brigades and the overhaul will directly shape deployable land power through 2031. The news forms part of a broader capability package and industrial financing track, as reported by Libertad Digital.
The Pizarro is Spain’s tracked ASCOD infantry fighting vehicle, built by GDELS Santa Bárbara Sistemas, armed with a 30 mm cannon and coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun, carrying a mechanized squad under modular armor for high-mobility operations (Picture Source: Spanish MoD)
The Pizarro in its VCI/C configuration is a tracked infantry and cavalry fighting vehicle designed to transport a squad under armor while delivering direct fire and digitalized situational awareness. The mid-life upgrade will target the fire-control suite, vetronics and power distribution, embedded diagnostics, survivability enhancements, and interoperability across radios, data links and IFF, bringing Phase I vehicles to a common standard with Phase II. Beyond the turret and mission systems, the work is expected to rationalize software baselines and maintenance interfaces to reduce downtime and improve fleet availability.
Operationally, the Pizarro family (internationally known within the ASCOD lineage) entered Spanish service between 1996 and 2003 for Phase I and later for Phase II, supporting mechanized infantry in training cycles at home and allied exercises abroad. Spain fields 261 vehicles across variants; the approved program covers 121 Phase I VCI/C only. Excluded from this scope are 21 Phase I VCPC command posts, 83 Phase II VCI/Cs and 36 Castor engineer vehicles, the latter delivered most recently. The government paved the way on 16 October with a Royal Decree published in the BOE to extend direct loans to defense firms, locking in financing for the Pizarro upgrade awarded to GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas and confirming the choice of modernization over a clean-sheet replacement.
In capability terms, Spain’s path mirrors successful European and U.S. mid-life updates that extracted more combat power from proven hulls. Compared with modernized CV90s or upgraded M2 Bradleys, the Pizarro plan emphasizes harmonizing sensors, computing and secure communications while avoiding the complexity and cost growth seen on new-build programs such as the Puma. This approach preserves logistic continuity, sustains crew training pipelines and accelerates integration of add-on protection and counter-UAS toolkits. Historically, fleets that standardized their electronics and C2 stacks benefited from higher availability rates and faster software refresh cycles; the Pizarro’s alignment of Phase I to Phase II is consistent with that playbook and should yield measurable gains in reliability and mission effectiveness.
Strategically, modernized VCI/Cs strengthen Spain’s credibility in NATO land contributions and raise the readiness of brigades earmarked for Eastern-flank reassurance and Mediterranean contingencies. Geopolitically, the decision supports the national commitment to reach 2% of GDP in defense investment while deepening European industrial autonomy. Geostrategically, common standards across the Pizarro fleet simplify coalition operations, from combined arms maneuver to digitally networked fires, and create headroom to field newly funded enablers like software-defined radios and expeditionary C2 systems.
Financially, the Pizarro contract is valued at €261.8 million, runs from signature through 30 November 2031 without extension, and covers 121 Phase I VCI/Cs with a planned Spanish content exceeding 80%. The awardee is GDELS–Santa Bárbara Sistemas, the program incumbent. The decision forms part of a larger €5.55 billion package approved by the Council of Ministers, encompassing a full-spectrum renewal of Spain’s air and land training systems. The centerpiece is the Integrated Training System–Combat, valued at €3.68 billion, structured around up to 45 Hürjet advanced trainers to replace the F-5M fleet. Produced by Turkish Aerospace and “Spanishized” by Airbus Defence and Space, the Hürjet will integrate domestic avionics and sustainment, with deliveries from 2028 to seed the 2029/2030 course and full Spanish-configuration jets by 2031. The program also includes 18 C295 airframes for transport and pilot training, a third phase of NH90 procurement adding 32 multi-role helicopters, and new H135 and H145M-class light rotorcraft to recapitalize training and support fleets. Complementary investments allocate €1.174 billion for software-defined radios, €785.1 million for the MC3 connectivity system, and €26.9 million to upgrade SG850 transmissions on Phase II Pizarros and Castor engineer vehicles.
By committing €261 million to the Army’s oldest Pizarro tanks, Madrid is choosing pragmatic strength: extend the life of a proven platform, unify standards across the fleet, and anchor the work in national industry to preserve skills and supply chains. The upgrade will deliver tangible battlefield effects, greater availability, better protected mobility and interoperable command networks, on a schedule and budget that support Spain’s operational commitments and its broader defense-industrial strategy.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.