GDELS offers to produce 50 ASCOD infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine

25 June, 2024 ASCOD IFV in Slovakia, April 15, 2021. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Slovakia General Dynamics European Land Systems has proposed to the Spanish government to produce up to 50 ASCOD infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine within a year.

Spanish media Infodefensa reported on this. Spanish armored vehicle manufacturer Santa Barbara Sistemas, part of General Dynamics' European division, has informed the Spanish government that its plant in Trubia could produce up to 50 ASCOD infantry fighting vehicles per year. The announcement follows a March meeting between the President and representatives of the national defense industry and the recently signed defense agreement with Ukraine, under which Spain guaranteed £1 billion in support.

However, El Comercio reports that the Spanish Ministry of Defense has not yet responded to the proposal.

ASCOD for Ukraine

Speaking of the infantry fighting vehicle, it is worth noting that the proposal refers to its second generation, known as ASCOD 2 or ASCOD Phase 2. This is not the first time this infantry fighting vehicle has been mentioned in the Ukrainian context. In September last year, GDELS, the Czechoslovak Group holding company, and Ukrainian Armor considered the possibility of its licensed production in the country.

Ukrainian Armor specialists, together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, representatives of the State Research Institute for Testing and Certification of Weapons and Military Equipment, and the Czechoslovak Group, visited the production facilities of General Dynamics European Land Systems in Trubia, where they familiarized themselves with the production. Ukrainian military personnel tested the IFV to compare the capabilities of ASCOD with the existing armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Photo credits: Ukrainian Armor

In its article, Infodefensa notes that ASCOD is now a complete product, the production of which has already been tested at the facilities in Trubia. Santa Barbara Sistema once manufactured a hundred of these machines as part of the Ajax program for the UK. The company performs a complete cycle of machine manufacturing, from cutting sheet metal to assembling the finished machine and integrating various weapon systems.

However, in Ukraine, the Spanish combat vehicle will face serious competition, as the Swedish CV90, which is already actively fighting on the battlefield, and the German KF41 Lynx, which Rheinmetall is building a plant for, are also being considered as future IFVs for the Armed Forces.