Spain buys 34 SUPERAV 8×8 amphibious vehicles

Indra Land Vehicles and IDV, a Leonardo Company, signed a strategic agreement on April 17, 2026, to deliver the new Marine Infantry Amphibious Combat Vehicle — known by its Spanish acronym VACIM — to the Spanish Armed Forces under a Special Modernization Program commissioned by the Spanish Ministry of Defence.

The contract covers the supply of 34 SUPERAV 8×8 amphibious platforms by IDV to Indra Land Vehicles, which will serve as the primary integrator for the program. Working out of its industrial facilities in Spain, Indra Land Vehicles will configure the platforms into multiple operational variants — Troop Transport, Command and Control, Recovery, and Ambulance — integrating the mission systems specified by the Spanish Ministry of Defence before delivering the completed vehicles to the Marine Infantry. The scope of the contract includes functional adaptation, system validation, and final delivery of each configured vehicle.

Frank Torres, Chief Procurement Officer and Managing Director of Indra Land Vehicles, described the significance of the deal: “The collaboration with IDV will constitute a decisive step within the project to equip the Spanish Marine Infantry with the capabilities required by today’s demanding scenarios, and the beginning of a stable, long-term industrial relationship. The contract, together with Indra’s delivery of new specialized variants, will enhance the amphibious capabilities of our Armed Forces and enable Indra to continue establishing a robust, innovative, and forward-thinking industrial base.”

Nazario Bianchini, Head of Sales at IDV, placed the Spanish deal within a wider international context: “The SUPERAV 8×8 has already been selected by the United States Marine Corps and by the Italian Armed Forces. In the USA IDV’s amphibious platform serves as base of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV), supplied in partnership with BAE Systems; while in Italy the SUPERAV, equipped with Leonardo’s weapon systems, is the base of the Veicolo Blindato Anfibio (VBA). Thanks to the contract signed with Indra, IDV will deliver the state-of-the-art amphibious armoured platform, enabling Spain to renew and expand its National Defence vehicle fleet and effectively address current and future operational challenges.”

The SUPERAV 8×8 is a wheeled amphibious armored vehicle designed to operate seamlessly across both maritime and land environments. Its eight-wheel drive configuration provides high cross-country mobility once ashore, while its hull design allows it to launch from and return to amphibious ships at sea — a capability that lets Marines get from ship to shore without relying on specialized landing craft. The vehicle’s amphibious performance, combined with its armor protection and payload flexibility across different mission variants, makes it well suited to the full spectrum of littoral and coastal operations that modern Marine infantry forces are expected to conduct.

Spain’s Marine Infantry is one of Europe’s oldest and most experienced amphibious forces, and the VACIM program represents its most significant vehicle recapitalization in years. The acquisition is structured under a Special Modernization Program — a procurement mechanism the Spanish Ministry of Defence uses to accelerate the fielding of priority capabilities outside the standard budget cycle, reflecting the urgency attached to restoring and expanding the Marine Infantry’s operational readiness.

The SUPERAV’s selection by three NATO members — the United States, Italy, and now Spain — establishes the platform as the de facto Western standard for next-generation amphibious armored vehicles. The U.S. Marine Corps fields the vehicle as the Amphibious Combat Vehicle in partnership with BAE Systems, while Italy operates it as the Veicolo Blindato Anfibio with Leonardo weapon system integration. Spain’s variant, produced and integrated domestically by Indra, adds a third national configuration to that growing family.