MTL Advanced steels itself for UK Boxer contract
MTL Advanced has been chosen to supply armoured steel for the production of the UK MoD’s Boxer Armoured Vehicle Programme, specifically, the steel will be used in the Boxer hull assembly.
The contract was jointly awarded by WFEL and parent company KMW. The value and timeframe of the contract have not been disclosed – other than it being a multi-million pound and multi-year contract.
MTL Advanced has invested in excess of £2 million in new capital equipment to help support this project and meet increased demand.
This is the latest sub-contract to be awarded by WFEL under the $2.3 billion contract signed in November 2019 between Artec and the UK MoD.
Artec is the joint venture between KMW and Rheinmetall which was contracted to deliver over 500 Boxer vehicles to the British Army.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, the Boxer was originally developed during the 1990s; however, the UK left the programme in 2003.
The nation later announced in 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme and pursue a sole-source acquisition of the 8x8 vehicle.
The arrival of the Boxer would be a welcome addition to the British Army, as it has seen recent setbacks with other armoured vehicle programmes such as the Ajax.
More from Land Warfare
-
New Estonian night vision devices to help against “significantly” larger enemy
Argus is a family of Mil-Spec I2 multipurpose monocular systems that can be operated handheld or head-, helmet- or weapon-mounted.
-
Hero-120 loitering munitions to be made in US
Hero-120, a loitering munition system fitted with a 4.5kg warhead, has been designed to carry out strikes against mid-range targets. In June 2021, the US Marine Corps announced the Hero-120 had been selected for its Organic Precision Fire Mounted (OPF-M) programme.
-
Germany orders more Patriot air defence systems
The US Army has acquired more than 1,100 launchers of which it has exported at least 200 launchers, while more than 10,000 Patriot missiles have been produced to date.
-
Rheinmetall receives EU funding to boost artillery production for Ukrainian war effort
Rheinmetall has contracts to produce hundreds-of-thousands of artillery shells for Ukraine and new funding from the EU will boost the company’s manufacturing capability.