Santa Bárbara Sistemas Opens Additive Manufacturing Center in Seville: €25 Million for Pizarro, Piranha and Leopard Parts

Spanish armored-vehicle maker Santa Bárbara Sistemas (General Dynamics European Land Systems — GDELS-SBS) has announced that its additive manufacturing center in Alcalá de Guadaíra, near Seville, is now fully operational. According to Infodefensa’s report on November 5, the facility — running since September — produces metal and polymer parts for the Pizarro and Piranha armored vehicles, the Leopard tank, and the SIAC self-propelled howitzer.

An Industrial Fix for the Spare-Parts Bottleneck

The center’s core purpose is to 3D-print spare parts that have become hard to source, obsolete, or require small, specialized production runs. Santa Bárbara Sistemas emphasizes that, as the original manufacturer of these vehicles, it can complete the verification and certification process in-house for newly printed parts — a factor the company says shortens maintenance turnaround for fielded vehicles.

The company states the facility has more than 100 qualified manufacturing processes, over 50 validated parts, four printing technologies and five post-processing systems, spread across more than 2,000 square meters. It is designed to support eight separate product lines. The company also says it has built a digital catalog of certified parts and a testing area it describes as unique in Europe.

From a Year-Long Pilot to Industrial Infrastructure

Santa Bárbara Sistemas says building the center took roughly a year, moving from pilot phase to full industrial infrastructure over that period. The project was developed with two Spanish partners: Novaindef, an additive-manufacturing specialist tied to the Sicnova group, and Smartpm, which handles digitalization and industrial automation. According to earlier reporting by Escudo Digital, the partnership represents the first center of its kind in the defense sector.

The investment figures are notable: the company says it plans to invest €25 million in the Alcalá de Guadaíra plant over the next three years, on top of €21 million already invested across its facilities over the past two years. The company also reported that representatives from six NATO-aligned armies attended technical days held at the new facility — a signal that the center is positioned not just to serve the Spanish Army but also to support export relationships and joint sustainment cooperation.

Europe’s Aging Armored-Vehicle Fleets

The announcement highlights a structural problem across European militaries: spare-parts supply chains for decades-old platforms like the Leopard 2 are steadily narrowing as original manufacturers close production lines or subcontractors cease operations. Additive manufacturing offers a way to address this without setting up an entirely new production line, producing parts on demand and in low volumes. Ongoing programs such as the Pizarro modernization effort (MODEPI) and Piranha 3 sustainment are expected to be among the first to draw directly on this new capacity.

The move comes alongside ongoing corporate tension in Spain’s defense sector — including Indra’s interest in acquiring the company and an unresolved dispute with parent General Dynamics — but the investment in production capacity suggests the company is maintaining its operational priorities regardless.

Santa Bárbara Sistemas’ two major plants, in Seville and in Trubia (Oviedo), form the backbone of Spain’s land-systems industry. The Alcalá de Guadaíra site has long served as a center of excellence for Leopard tank maintenance, Pizarro fleet modernization and Piranha 3 sustainment; the new additive manufacturing capability reinforces that role as a complementary investment.

Sources

• Infodefensa, “Santa Bárbara Sistemas inaugura en Sevilla un centro de fabricación aditiva para producir piezas de Pizarro, Piranha o Leopard,” November 5, 2026 — used for the facility’s technical capacity, investment figures and the NATO delegation visit.
• Escudo Digital, “GDELS-SBS y Novaindef crearán un centro pionero en fabricación avanzada para Defensa” — used to verify the partnership structure and the project’s pioneering status in the sector.