Kongsberg gains second German Boxer deal

In its first-ever contract with KMW, Kongsberg is to develop and deliver prototype and test units of the Protector RS4 remote weapons station (RWS) for trials aboard a Boxer 8x8 vehicle with a new mission module, as part of the German Army’s heavy Joint Fire Support Team (JFSTsw) programme.

Tests ‘will be followed with serial production contract’, Kongsberg announced on 22 January without disclosing the potential financial value.

The new Boxer 8x8 mission module will include the Panoramic Above Armour Gimbal joint fire support observation and surveillance system from Thales, integrated into the open-standard NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture for electronic subsystems.

In December 2021, European procurement agency OCCAR signed a deal with Boxer manufacturing JV ARTEC to develop the JFSTsw version of Boxer. At the time, OCCAR stated that the €70 million ($79.27 million) contract included the development and delivery of two prototype vehicles and a reference system for carrying out trials and tests.

Kongsberg is already delivering Protector RS4s for installation on German Boxer 8x8s to perform C-UAS missions, and Thales UK was contracted in February 2021 to assemble and integrate Protector RS4 onto British Army Boxer 8x8 vehicles.