View source for VEC-M1

{{Short description|Spanish wheeled reconnaissance vehicle}}
{{no footnotes|date=January 2013}}
{{Expand Spanish|VEC|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = VEC-M1
| image              = Desfile terrestre del 12 de octubre 2022 5.jpg
| caption            = [[Spanish Army]]'s VEC in [[Spanish Armed Forces]]'s day 2022 parade in [[Madrid]]
| origin             = [[Spain]]
| type               = [[Armoured fighting vehicle]]
| Service Life           = [[1990's-Still in Service]]
| wars               = [[Iraq War]]
| is_vehicle         = Yes
| unit_cost          = 483,000 [[Euro|EUR]]
| weight             = {{convert|13.7|t}}
| length             = {{convert|6.1|m|ft}}
| width              = {{convert|2.5|m|ft}}
| height             = {{convert|2.5|m|ft}}
| crew               = 5 (commander, gunner, driver and two scouts)
| armour             = [[Steel]] (turret)<br>[[Aluminium alloy]] (hull)
| pw_ratio           = {{convert|19.5|hp/t}}
| transmission       = [[Six-wheel drive]]
| payload_capacity   = {{convert|17|t}}
| fuel_capacity      = {{convert|400|L|gal}}
| vehicle_range      = {{convert|800|km|mi}}
| speed              = {{convert|90|km/h|mph}}
}}
[[Image:VEC Zaragoza.jpg|thumb|[[Spanish Army]]'s VEC in [[Spanish Armed Forces]]'s day 2008 parade in [[Zaragoza]].]]

The '''[[Pegaso]]''' '''VEC-M1''' is a Spanish military [[cavalry]] [[reconnaissance]] vehicle. It started service in the Spanish Army in 1980 as '''BMR-625 VEC''' (a.k.a. '''Pegaso 3562''') and all of them were upgraded in late 1990s to the M1 version.

== Technical characteristics ==
[[Image:Spanish Army BMR-600 DF-SD-04-06607.JPEG|thumb|VEC is based on [[Pegaso BMR|BMR]].]]
The vehicle was developed and produced by Pegaso, now [[Iveco]], as a derivative of the well-known [[Pegaso BMR]]. It is a [[6x6]], currently powered by a 315 [[Horsepower|hp]] [[Scania AB|Scania]] DS9 diesel 6-cylinder engine, disposed in the rear right side of the hull, which replaced the original Pegaso 306&nbsp;hp engine.

It mounts an automatic 25&nbsp;mm chain gun ([[M242 Bushmaster]]) into a two-man turret and a coaxial 7.62&nbsp;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==
*{{ESP}}: Employed the VEC in combat in the [[Yugoslav Wars|Balkans]], [[Lebanon]], [[Sinai insurgency|Sinai]] and in the [[Iraq War]], where they were favoured by their crews and command because of their good all-round capabilities, mechanical reliability, armour and firepower.

== See also ==
* [[List of armoured fighting vehicles by country]]

==External links==
{{Commons category|VEC}}
*[http://armyreco.ifrance.com/europe/espagne/vehicules_a_roues/vec/vec_espagne_description.htm VEC-M1 on Army Recognition page (in French)]
*[http://www.portierramaryaire.com/foro/viewtopic.php?p=1242&sid=c563bfe3b7a587391cac0fec3c3e14c5 VEC (and BMR) data (in Spanish)]

{{Modern Recce}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vec-M1}}
[[Category:Wheeled reconnaissance vehicles]]
[[Category:Armoured fighting vehicles of Spain]]
[[Category:Reconnaissance vehicles]]
[[Category:Wheeled military vehicles]]
[[Category:Reconnaissance vehicles of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s]]