VEC-M1
Encyclopedia
Pegaso
Pegaso was a Spanish make of trucks, omnibuses, tractors, armored vehicles, and, for a while, sports cars. The parent company, Enasa, was created in 1946 and based in the old Hispano-Suiza factory, under the direction of the renowned automotive engineer Wifredo Ricart...
VEC-M1 is a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
military cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
vehicle. It started service in the Spanish Army in 1980 as BMR-625 VEC (aka Pegaso 3562) and all of them were upgraded in late 90's to the M1 version.
The vehicle was developed and produced by Pegaso, now Iveco
Iveco
Iveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin...
, as a derivative of the well-known Pegaso BMR
Pegaso BMR
The Pegaso 3560 BMR is a 6x6 wheeled armoured personnel carrier produced in Spain by Enasa since 1979.Originally powered by a Pegaso 9157/8 306hp diesel engine, it has an automatic gearbox, torque converter, independent suspension in all six wheels and amphibious capability. It can also be...
. It is a 6x6, currently powered by a 315 hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
Scania
Scania AB
Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...
DS9 diesel 6 cylinder engine, disposed in the rear right side of the hull, which replaced the original Pegaso 306 hp engine.
It mounts an automatic 25 mm chain gun (M242 Bushmaster
M242 Bushmaster
The M242 Bushmaster is a 25 mm chain-fed autocannon. It is used extensively by the US armed forces, as well as by NATO's and some other nations' forces in ground combat vehicles and watercraft...
) into a two-man turret and a coaxial 7.62 mm MG3S machine gun. Six electrically fired smoke grenade launchers are located on the sides of the turret, three on the left side and three on the right. It had amphibious ability, as two hydrojets for displacement in water were an optional equipment.
The crew in composed by five men: the commander, the gunner, the driver and two scouts.
Operators
: Employed the VEC in combat in the BalkansYugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, and in the Iraq War, where they were favoured by their crews and command because of their good all-round capabilities, mechanical reliability, armor and firepower. However, the VEC achieved a bad reputation being prone to overturn.