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2018-05-01

UK to Rejoin the Boxer Programme

Britain’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) is set to procure the Boxer 8x8 vehicle to meet the requirements of their Mechanized Infantry Vehicle (MIV) programme. The MOD will re-join the Boxer programme through the International Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) headquartered in Bonn and dedicated to efficient management of existing and future European joint armament programmes.

Boxer is British by design with British DNA running through it when, as part of the original MRAV (Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle) Programme, the MOD even came up with the Boxer name. Now more than 600 Boxers in 12 different versions have been ordered or delivered to Britain’s NATO neighbours Germany, Netherlands and Lithuania.

Boxer’s new international market

The Boxer programme meets the key tenets of the MOD’s Defence Industrial Policy to provide economic value to the UK, reinforce capability and competitiveness in the supply chain and realise interoperability and strong export potential. Meanwhile, operational experience with the German Bundeswehr in Afghanistan has proven the Boxer to contribute significantly to the sustainment and mobility of ground troops.

The UK Boxer team has benefitted from decades of skills and investment in designing, integrating and delivering armored vehicles, with the current models sufficiently spacious to seat eight soldiers or stow additional subsystems as an unmanned platform. Its suppliers will include established and reliable UK defense companies, such as BAE Systems, Thales UK, Raytheon, Pearson Engineering and Rolls-Royce, to help sustain the UK supply chain across Scotland, the North-East of England, Northern Ireland and the West Midlands.

Not only will the programme include rapid delivery of the proven Boxer vehicle, but it guarantees an open and transparent procurement-and-delivery process, compatibility with NATO allies and a substantial investment into the industrial base of UK defense. Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, recognises the excellent export potential of British-built Boxer vehicles: “The Boxer vehicle offers exceptional levels of protection and mobility that have been proven on operations, and we look forward to welcoming the British Army into the group of armed forces already successfully operating Boxer.”

As a joint venture between Rheinmetall (64 per cent) and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (36 per cent) ARTEC is contracted to deliver and support more than 600 Boxer vehicles to the German, Dutch and Lithuanian armed forces. ARTEC and Rheinmetall’s priority is to work with UK partners to deliver the MIV programme, so securing substantial British jobs in manufacturing, sustaining and upgrading the UK Boxer fleet.

Ben Hudson, Head of Rheinmetall’s Global Vehicle Systems Division, confirmed the assets of mobility, capacity, flexibility, utility and agility emphasised by the MOD, “We are confident that the MOD will find that a Boxer procurement via OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en matière d’Armement / Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation) and ARTEC provides excellent value for money and timely delivery to support the rapid establishment of the UK Strike Brigades.”

ARTEC is a Joint Venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and Rheinmetall Military Vehicles Nederland.

Boxer’s new 8x8 variants

Both the British MOD and Australia have selected the Boxer 8x8 after a comprehensive market analysis of the performance and value-for-money of similar Mechanised Infantry Vehicles. The 8x8 is also available in 12 other versions, amongst which these are the key variants:

• The ARTEC Boxer

The armoured ARTEC Boxer is battle-proven in Afghanistan, with a design allowing for any Mission Module configuration in a 15-ton maximum payload. It is flexible and future proofed, with excellent ballistic and mine protection qualities.

• The Boxer IFV

The Boxer IFV variant comes equipped with the LANCE system in a new modular, adaptable turret design, optimised for further upgrades. It can achieve a top speed of 103 km/h with its 710 HP-MTU turbo diesel engine and 36.5 tonne full combat load, or with a 38.5 tonne combat-load configuration and 800 HP MTU engine.

• The Boxer A2

The Boxer A2 upgrade encompasses numerous improvements in both the chassis and mission modules to assure maximum flexibility and versatility. The German Bundeswehr’s inventory includes four Boxer variants: an infantry section vehicle, a mobile command post, a heavily protected field ambulance and a driver-training vehicle.

The Dutch armed forces currently field a combat engineering Boxer, along with the ambulance, mobile command post, cargo transport and driver training vehicles. The Lithuanian armed forces are also procuring four variants of the Boxer equipped with an unmanned 30mm turret in addition to driver-training vehicles.

• The Lance Turret Boxer

Rheinmetall also offers a two-man Lance Turret Boxer, armed with an airburst-capable 30mm MK-30/2 ABM automatic cannon and a remotely-controlled turret design. This range of individual modules provides the Boxer with a hard-hitting, versatile combat platform combining survivability, mobility, situational awareness and lethality.

• The Boxer CRV

Finally, equipped with a Lance Turret, the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) variant has been proposed by the Australian Government as the next generation 8x8 CRV and part of plans to modernise the Australian Army.

Having made it successfully through the field trials phase, this Boxer variant is one of two remaining contestants in the Australian Defence Force’s Land 400 Phase 2 procurement programme.

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