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Spain’s defense industry restores unity as Tess Defence nears delivery of its 100th 8x8 vehicle
🇪🇸 Spain /Conflict & Security

Spain’s defense industry restores unity as Tess Defence nears delivery of its 100th 8x8 vehicle

From La Vanguardia · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Tess Defence, the consortium of Indra, Escribano, General Dynamics-Santa Bárbara and Sapa, says it is operating at full capacity after a period of internal disputes.
  • The consortium will deliver its 100th 8x8 Dragón armored vehicle to Spain’s armed forces this month and aims to reach 122 deliveries by year-end.
  • Spain’s Defense Ministry contract covers 348 vehicles, with Indra holding a 51.01% stake in Tess Defence.

Spain’s defense industry is presenting a united front again after 18 months of corporate and personal disputes. Tess Defence, the consortium building the 8x8 Dragón armored vehicle, is about to deliver its 100th vehicle to the armed forces, a milestone that recently seemed distant.

The consortium’s four companies, Indra, Escribano, General Dynamics-Santa Bárbara and Sapa, said Tuesday that their joint venture is now operating at full capacity. They also called for a fresh push to expand Spain’s industrial capabilities.

Tess Defence went through a turbulent period marked by accusations between its partners. Indra’s management, led by Ángel Escribano, focused its criticism on General Dynamics and refused to cooperate with the company. It also made harsh accusations against Sapa, slowing vehicle deliveries.

The consortium’s operations changed after the crisis at Indra during the Easter period and Escribano’s departure, first from the company’s leadership and later from its ownership. Tess has already delivered more 8x8 vehicles in the current half-year than during all of last year. Consortium sources say the Army could receive as many as 122 vehicles before the end of the year.

The renewed image of unity took shape at Tess’s factory in Seville. The chief executives of the four partner companies, Josep Maria Recasens of Indra, Fernando Fernández of Escribano, Alejandro Page of General Dynamics and Ibón Aperribay of Sapa, posed together. “This image would have been unthinkable a year and a half ago,” said an executive involved in the project.

Indra leads Tess with 51.01% of the capital. General Dynamics-Santa Bárbara, Escribano and Sapa each hold 16.33%. The Defense Ministry contract calls for 348 combat vehicles. Indra took control of Tess more than a year ago in a deal valued at 106 million euros, according to information it submitted to Spain’s securities regulator, the CNMV.

This image would have been unthinkable a year and a half ago.

— Unnamed executive involved in the projectThe executive described the joint appearance of the four consortium partners as evidence that their earlier disputes had eased.
About this summary

Originally published by La Vanguardia in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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