GDELS and ESCRIBANO sign MoU at Eurosatory
General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) and ESCRIBANO Mechanical and Engineering (ESCRIBANO) signed an agreement at Eurosatory for the joint development of opportunities in the defence sector.
Above: (left to right) Jocxan Bojorquez, Director, Business Development, ESCRIBANO, Fernando Fernandez, COO, ESCRIBANO, Victor Lopez, Director, Business Development, GDELS-Santa Barbara Sistemas, Maria Amparo Valcarce, Secretary of State for Defence (SEDEF) and Juan Escrina, Managing Director, GDELS-Santa Barbara Sistemas.
Courtesy GDELS
The announcement was made on the ESCRIBANO booth in front of an ASCOD IFV with a GUARDIAN 30 remote weapon system, symbolising the collaborative spirit and ambition of the two companies. The event was attended by the Secretary of State of Spanish Ministry of Defence, Mª Amparo Valcarce and the Director General of Armaments and Material of the Spanish Ministry of Defence, Admiral Aniceto Rosique.
GDELS and ESCRIBANO intend to explore and promote multiple areas of collaboration in view of the innovative product portfolio of both partners: GDELS’ family of tracked and wheeled armored vehicles such as ASCOD, PANDUR and PIRANHA, as well as ESCRIBANO's advanced remote weapon stations, GUARDIAN 30 and GUARDIAN 2.0.
“The leading positions, complementary capabilities and expertise of GDELS and ESCRIBANO qualify both companies to explore a closer cooperation on future defence projects. This will also contribute to strengthened European defence capabilities and to securing European supply chains”, said Antonio Bueno, President of GDELS.
Dr Thomas Kauffmann, GDELS Vice President said: “We are delighted to support one of the leading Spanish defence companies to expand its business to a European and international level.”
“Our combined industrial competence is an excellent foundation to further explore and realise the most technologically advanced defence systems on the market. We are convinced that this MoU will allow us to continue advancing in the development of new solutions at the technological forefront and strengthened our cooperation,” said Javier ESCRIBANO, CEO of ESCRIBANO.
General Dynamics European Land Systems designs, manufactures and maintains a wide range of products from wheeled (PIRANHA, PANDUR, EAGLE and DURO) and tracked (ASCOD) armoured vehicles, amphibious bridges, ferry systems and artillery systems. The PIRANHA is the most widely-used wheeled armoured vehicle in the Western world with more than 12,000 vehicles in operation in more than 20 user countries. More than 1000 tracked medium main battle tanks of the ASCOD family are currently in service in four user nations in a wide variety of variants: infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), personnel carrier (APC), command post, reconnaissance, direct fire 105/120 mm, mortar, artillery, air defence, engineers, bridge deployment, recovery, logistics and ambulance.
ESCRIBANO has among its main principal business lines the design, development, and manufacture of gyro-stabilised remote-control platforms, in particular the GUARDIAN land family. The GUARDIAN 30 has a 30mm cannon (adaptable to 40mm) MK 44 Bushmaster II (standard version) and integrates a 7.62mm caliber coaxial machine gun as secondary armament. This station can also be integrated with various types of missiles, such as the Spike LR2 or the Javelin and other sensors, APS (active protection system) and Missile Warning Systems. The GUARDIAN 30 is a station in service in various countries in Europe and the Middle East, where more than 800 units have already been sold since its launch in 2020. With more than 4,000 units in operation worldwide, ESCRIBANO is also known for its light stations 12.7mm. One of these is the GUARDIAN 2.0, adaptable to other calibres or the MK19 grenade launcher (M 230 LF of 30mm or 14.5mm).