New Lab for Spanish Army Vehicle Development Unveiled

Indra is launching an advanced laboratory to replicate the Spanish Army’s 8×8 Dragon armored wheeled vehicles and tracked support vehicles (VACs), aiming to inform the development of the Maestre mission system for these vehicles.

The new research laboratory will emulate the vehicle’s operating environment, facilitating the development and evolution of the software for these systems. 

The lab will also advance the training, maintenance, and testing capabilities to study how the vehicle behaves in different configurations. The lab will support the incorporation of new sensors and the analysis of their interoperability with other systems. 

The new laboratory has working positions that allow operators to manage the mission system as the driver, vehicle commander, and gunner, just as an embarked platoon would do. These positions have been designed so they can also be installed in transportable containers or shelters, in order to be deployed in the units determined by the Army.

The laboratory will allow for the 8×8 Dragon and VAC Maestre system to be constantly updated throughout its life cycle. It also provides a system and operating familiarization environment prior to training on the simulators and the vehicles themselves.

Indra’s Maestre system controls the weapons, warning, self-protection, situational awareness, communications, navigation, and battlefield management systems (BMS) of the 8×8 and tracked support vehicle (CSV). It processes collected information and presents an integrated picture to the crew for rapid decision-making, enhancing vehicle safety, survivability, fire effectiveness, and collaborative combat capability.

The Spanish Army, in collaboration with Indra, has developed Maestre to meet the General Staff’s needs for the VCR 8X8 Dragon and the Tracked Support Vehicle (VAC). The Army’s involvement was key in making Maestre 100% tailored to its operational requirements.

The 8×8 mission system is reportedly essential for the Army’s digitalization, enabling future integration of ground platforms into the Digital Combat Brigade, combat cloud scenarios, and the Spanish Army Logistics Base (BLET).

Indra presented the new facilities to Spanish Army authorities, including Lieutenant General Fernand o Miguel García y García de las Hijas, Chief of the Army’s Logistics Support Command, together with other Army officers and other officials from the DGAM’s program sub-directorate.

The head of Ground Mission Systems at Indra, Vigara Zaera, commented; “With this laboratory and the work we have conducted in recent years with the Ministry of Defense, we are globally at the forefront in the digitization of military vehicles.”