Articles by Francisco P. Fernández Mateos

The use of armored vehicles and battle tanks in Spain dates back to the beginning of the 8th century. It is a rich and curious history, in which national designs are mixed with those received from abroad, from the Soviet Union to the United States, passing through Germany and Italy, among others. In this fourth installment, we will focus on the most current programs, from the VCR 8×XNUMX Dragon to the acquisition of MRAPS-type armored vehicles, but also on wheeled artillery, both tube and rocket, the latter having recently received a new boost with the SILAM program. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

The use of armored vehicles and battle tanks in Spain dates back to the beginning of the 70th century. It is a rich and curious history, in which national designs are mixed with those received from abroad, from the Soviet Union to the United States, passing through Germany and Italy, among others. If in the second part of this series of articles we talked about the first Modernization Plans of the Army, approved in the XNUMXs, in this third we will reach the present century, reviewing all those plans that have been happening since then... (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

The creation of CENAD “San Gregorio” has marked a milestone in the modernization process of the Spanish Army, having become a true Center of Excellence, totally indispensable for the correct application of the Instruction, Training and Evaluation System (SIAE) of the Spanish Army. Land. Thanks to these facilities, which go far beyond being a mere maneuver and shooting range, our soldiers have at their disposal the perfect means and setting to perfect their training. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

The use of armored vehicles and battle tanks in Spain dates back to the beginning of the 70th century. It is a rich and curious history, in which national designs are mixed with those received from abroad, from the Soviet Union to the United States, passing through Germany and Italy, among others. If in the first part of this series of articles we talked about the first prototypes and programs, as well as the consolidation of this type of platforms in Spain, in this second installment we address the first Modernization Plans of the Army, which have followed one another since the XNUMXs with mixed results. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

The use of armored vehicles and battle tanks in Spain dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. It is a rich and curious history, in which national designs are mixed with those received from abroad, from the Soviet Union to the United States, passing through Germany and Italy, among others. Throughout this series of articles we will do an extensive review of a topic that is living history, covering everything from the first prototypes to the programs still in progress. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

At the beginning of this work, we make a classification of the types of existing armored vehicles, then studying their needs in relation to their weapons systems, to fulfill the missions that can generally be entrusted to them. Leaving aside the ammunition, which will be the subject of future work in Armies, the different elements that influence its firepower are studied, such as weapons, supports, towers and remote control stations, essential for any armored vehicle to be able to develop their tasks with the necessary efficiency. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

Multipurpose light armored vehicles are the most common military vehicles -apart from VLTTs and trucks, of course-. From the design table they have been designed so that, with few modifications, they can be adapted to multiple tasks. According to some studies, in the next decade alone, its manufacturers will share a market of more than 100.000 million euros. Given the volume of money that programs like the American JLTV move, it does not seem at all crazy, especially when variants continue to be developed, each one more surprising. However, the market is much larger than one might assume, with dozens of manufacturers from numerous countries fighting to get a piece of this juicy pie. In the next few lines we will review as comprehensively as possible the possibilities that the industry offers. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the text [Keep reading…]

The VCR-105 Centauro has been the spearhead of the Spanish Cavalry for the last two decades. A vehicle that was once a cutting-edge vehicle that, however, has become progressively outdated due to insufficient investment, which has made it impossible to implement the necessary improvements. This has led to a situation, as we will see, in which it is necessary to seriously consider whether it is advisable to modernize both the barges and the weapons, implement a new 120mm turret on the chassis of the 8×8 Dragon or do the same, but choosing a cannon 105mm. We will talk about all this and more in the following lines. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer for new subscribers through the following link.

In this work, we will review the different types of mortars that currently exist, focusing mainly on 120 mm mortars shipped on platforms of all types and categories. Therefore, we will deal with tower-mounted models, those installed on the floor of the vehicle, both muzzle-loading and breech-loading, as well as those folded on the platform. We will also include other models that are still in development or that have not been accepted, either due to their complexity or high price, or because they have not met the required requirements. Finally, we will mention in passing everything related to equipment such as fire direction, automatic data transmission, location and positioning system, advanced observation equipment, etc., as well as ammunition. (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of our offer [Keep reading…]

This work is dedicated to land mines and improvised explosives, including sections on the origins, evolution and description of these devices, differentiating the two basic types of existing mines, anti-tank and counter-personnel, as well as the different versions according to their activation systems. Of course, special interest is paid to the types of mining and clearing, differentiating between sowing and dispersal, as well as the two categories of demining, military and humanitarian. Next, the various cleaning systems, both current and future, are reviewed, finally going on to briefly describe the improvised explosive charges IED and the penetrators formed by EFP explosion. In the following section, as an example, we will cite the characteristics of some materials for mine clearance and IED, which we consider of interest, paying special attention to those recently designed in Spanish companies. Finally, we will give some basic notions about [Keep reading…]