Spain hasn't received new Dragon 8x8 wheeled armored vehicles for two and a half months. This was a conscious decision by the country's Ministry of Defense, because this equipment broke down during tests due to rain, raising questions about replacing M113 APCs transferred to Ukraine.
As okdiario writes, Spanish armored vehicles couldn't pass waterproofing tests over recent months because of rain. The reason is that water enters the electric motor that powers the remaining systems.
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As a result of the problem, the armored vehicle stops, while its turret jams, making it an easy target on the battlefield. At the same time, repair requires immediate replacement of part of the cables, creating additional burden on enterprises already busy with repair and fixing old breakdowns.
So this deficiency wouldn't interfere, developers from SAPA company simply covered the electric motor with tarpaulin, which essentially had to become the equipment's standard configuration. This shocked specialists responsible for testing as well as military personnel.
The decision itself was caused by unwillingness to stop the production line due to an isolated problem, since at that moment other numerous deficiencies were being corrected. While later parts should have arrived for full correction.
SAPA says they already have a solution for ensuring engine waterproofing. It hasn't been implemented yet, so they're testing other components for now. At the same time, other project contractors note that production indeed didn't stop, but new vehicles weren't released because this component was lacking.
Particular dissatisfaction with SAPA’s work is also expressed at Santa Bárbara Sistemas, which is a subsidiary of American giant GDELS. According to them, problems and delays created by other project participants lead to overtime work and create the impression that it is doing its job poorly.
Defense Express notes that this story is a continuation of a real epic around Dragon 8x8 development. Currently, Spanish military don't have a single certified vehicle, because they generally do not work good during tests.
It's known that currently 127 hulls have been manufactured out of 348 ordered in 2020. Contract execution should continue until 2030. Mainly they should replace aging tracked M113 APCs, some of which were supplied to Ukraine as military aid.
Calls for restructuring and reviewing the Dragon 8x8 program have already been heard in Spain. However, it seems no one has dared to do this yet. All this despite the fact that it’s based on the Swiss Piranha V, which didn’t demonstrate similar problems.
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