The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has warned Indra on Tuesday that reserves the “appropriate actions” in the delivery of the new 8×8 dragon armored for the land army, awarded to this company. As reported by the Ministry directed by Robles, the minister has held a meeting with those responsible for Indra, in which she has expressed her “concern” for the delays in the wheel combat vehicle program (VCR) 8×8 Dragon.
The contract was subscribed with the Tess consortium, for which Indra was responsible in July this year. Robles has visited Indra together with the Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, General Amador Teachat.
At the meeting the head of Defense has transferred to Ángel Escribano, president of Indra; José Vicente de los Mozos, CEO of the company, and Manuel Escalante, director of Technology, his concern about the successive delays of the 8×8 armored program. Due to the breach of the delivery, the ministerial team present at the meeting has indicated that “the appropriate actions are reserved,” says the defense statement.
Last July Escribano said that the Tess Consortium would give the Ministry of Defense between “60 and 80 armored vehicles”, which would be added to the 12 already provided the other 22 units ready to pass the tests and be delivered. The contract with defense, signed in 2020, provided for a total of 348 armored on a ten -year horizon.
Defense has already imposed economic sanctions on the manufacturer consortium for the delays and breach of technical milestones, and the concern for this situation has been publicly repeated by political areas and by the Minister of Defense itself.
The Tess Defense Consortium, composed of Indra, Santa Barbara Systems, Sapa and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering, is under pressure to accelerate the rhythm of production and meet the requirements required by the portfolio headed by Robles.
