Spanish Army (Ejercito de Tierra) - Modernization
The Spanish armored force’s ambitious modernization program started in 1991-92, when redundant American equipment became available as a result of the TLE (Transfer of Limited Equipment) Treaty. The redundant American equipment, deployed in stocks all over Germany, was to be transferred to some of the less well-equipped NATO armies. Spain received some 400 M60A3 MBTs, a big improvement for an armored fleet then mainly composed of M48A5s and upgraded AMX-30s. While the M60s were a significant improvement, they were not considered adequate for the 21st century.
The Spanish Army made its case to the Ministry of Defense, which was the origin of the Armor 2000 program. It called for Leopard 2 A5 MBTs, with a plan to introduce them by the year 2000. The acquisition of the Leopard 2 weapons system grew into a Spanish Army General Staff program to integrate modern armor into the Spanish Army. “Programa Coraza - 2000” (Program Armor - 2000) was created in March 1995 by order of the Army Chief of Staff and after approval of the Defense Minister.
Coraza - 2000 managed not only the beginning of the Leopard 2 acquisition, but also other important developments as well, like the procurement of the newly developed Ascod infantry/cavalry combat vehicle, nicknamed “Pizarro” in Spain. This new tracked armored vehicle, jointly designed by the Spanish company SBB (Santa Barbara Blindados) and Steyr, the well known Austrian manufacturer, promised to become a successful product and could be adopted by other armies in Europe and elsewhere.
Since its creation, Coraza - 2000 focused on the initial steps needed for the integration into the Spanish Army of the Leopard 2 A4 tanks received from surplus stocks of the German Bundeswehr, while preparing the industrial and military effort required to produce the Leopard 2 A5 tank, or Leopardo 2E as it is called by the Spanish Army. Coraza - 2000 grew out of the previous and existing program that, since 1992, had been managing deliveries, reception, and integration of the M60A3 MBTs, M110A2 8-inch, self-propelled howitzers, and other various armored vehicles, such as M113 APCs and M548 cargo/ammunition carriers. The program was responsible not only for procurement of all this equipment, but also for support, including logistics, training, allocation of resources, and budget management.
The Coraza - 2000 program was organized as a management directorate with authority to submit instructions and directions to all the Army subunits concerned. It included general management, logistics and general support, training, technical specifications, budget control, administration, and personnel. The directorate focused on three main weapons systems: the Leopard 2 MBT, the Ascod/Pizarro AIFV, and the Auxiliary Armored Vehicles projects, which included the combat engineer vehicle, a new armored bridge-launching vehicle, and an armored recovery vehicle, based on the M60.
The aim of the Leopard 2 Project was to guarantee the smooth integration into the Army of the Leopard 2 A5 as the main battle tank of the Spanish Army in the 21st century. Under a leasing agreement, the German Army provided the Spanish Army with 108 Leopard 2 A4 tanks. These tanks equipped two mechanized infantry brigades integrated into the mechanized division that was Spain’s contribution to the multinational army corps-size unit, EUROCORPS, formed by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg, with its headquarters presently located in Strasbourg, France.
The leasing of these 108 tanks was linked to an agreement calling for Spain to start production in 1998 of at least 200 new Leopard 2 A5 tanks. The Army received approval from Spain’s Ministry of Defense to procure a total of 320 MBTs, along with 23 Buffel 3 armored recovery vehicles. These tanks were produced by Krauss-Maffei of Munich, under some kind of industrial cooperation agreement with Spanish companies.
On February 9th, 1996, the Spanish Council of Ministers finally gave the green light to the procurement of the Ascod Pizarro, a newly developed infantry and cavalry combat vehicle. More than 400 were to be provided over ten years, completely replacing old M113 APCs in the mechanized infantry units and cavalry formations. Several different versions of the Pizarro were developed, including a CP version, a mortar and fire support vehicle, and an ambulance. This new armored combat vehicle forms the backbone of the main defense forces, together with the Leopard 2 A5, well into the 21st century.
After several years of trying, and always restrained by a limited budget, by 2000 the Spanish Cavalry was finally getting its future workhorse: the Italian 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle called the Centauro B1, previously in service only with the Italian Army. In the Spanish Army, the Centauro is known as the VRC-105 (Combat and Reconnaissance Vehicle, armed with a 105 gun) and would the standard armored system ofthe Spanish Cavalry in due course. The Spanish Army would have preferred to launch the Centauro procurement program long ago, but funding priority was committed to the other main acquisition programs in progress — the MBT Leopard 2 and the AIFV Pizarro/ASCOD. By the end of the 1990s, Spain assumed a bigger role in Allied intervention forces, requiring the Centauro acquisition to be accelerated, despite the budget considerations.
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