On a formal ceremony held at San Isidro Air Base in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader formally transferred a large batch of new military hardware and inaugurated renovated base facilities, marking a key milestone in his administration’s ongoing overhaul of the Dominican Armed Forces.
The expanded arsenal delivered to the force includes a diverse array of cutting-edge and locally sourced assets: five vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) drones, a mobile unmanned surveillance system integrated onto an all-terrain vehicle, 179 general-purpose military vehicles, and 10 Centauro tactical vehicles manufactured domestically by the Dominican Military Industry (Indom). Headlining the rollout was the public debut of the FURIA VBD-2, a newly assembled armored vehicle purpose-built to bolster the country’s border security operations.
Beyond new equipment, the government has completed a comprehensive renovation of seven critical support facilities across the air base. These upgrades include updated military residential quarters, a refurbished medical dispensary, reconfigured transportation hubs and other core infrastructure, all designed to elevate living and working conditions for active-duty personnel stationed at the site.
Addressing attendees at the handover ceremony, President Abinader reiterated his administration’s unwavering commitment to strengthening the country’s national defense capabilities. He specifically tied the modernization push to persistent security challenges along the Dominican Republic’s shared border with Haiti, noting that the investment in domestically produced military hardware — from armored vehicles to surveillance drones — delivers dual benefits: it boosts the armed forces’ operational effectiveness while cutting overall procurement costs compared to sourcing all equipment from foreign suppliers.
Dominican Republic Defense Minister Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre also spoke at the event, framing the new equipment and infrastructure upgrades as a core component of one of the most ambitious military modernization initiatives in the nation’s recent history. He highlighted that the effort delivers tangible improvements across four key pillars of military readiness: advanced technology, troop mobility, logistical support, and national military self-sufficiency.