Homologation tests of Spanish army VCR 8x8 Dragon to start in October.

According to Infodefensa, the first 8x8 Wheeled Combat Vehicles (VCR) Dragon of the Spanish Army are already at the Santa Bárbara Sistemas factory in Alcalá de Guadaira (Seville) to start the homologation tests next October. These tests will last approximately six months, in cooperation with the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), which will supervise the tests and certify the capabilities and technical characteristics of the VCR 8x8.
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VCR 8x8 Dragon in IFV version (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The first of seven 8x8 VCR vehicles, to be delivered in 2022, will soon roll off the production line, Infodefensa reports. The integration of this first unit of the VCR 8x8 Dragon was completed at the beginning of August at the Alcalá plant.

On July 28, 2022, the system design phase ended with the approval of the critical design review of the standard 8x8 VCRs, in the Engineer Vehicle version and the Infantry Combat Vehicle version. Overcoming this milestone is of vital importance to start the manufacturing and testing process.

In August 2020, Spain placed a €1.74 bn contract to procure 348 8x8 Dragon 8x8 Wheeled Combat Vehicles (VCR). The contract was awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Defense (MoD) to a joint venture (JV) of General Dynamics European Land Systems-Santa Bárbara Sistemas (GDELS-SBS), as well as three other companies.

In December 2021, General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) announced that production of the 8x8 Dragon Wheeled Combat Vehicle (RCV) for the Spanish Armed Forces has started in the Trubia Factory (Asturias) of GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas with the cutting of the first steel armor plate.