Rheinmetall signs ADF Boxer contract
Rheinmetall Defence Australia has signed the contract worth A$3.3 billion with the Australian government to supply 211 Boxer wheeled armoured vehicles to the Australian Army.
The vehicle's selection was announced in March. Delivery of the advanced 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) will take place between 2019 and 2026.
The Australian Defence Force will introduce several variants of Boxer, with the reconnaissance variant accounting for 133 of the 211 vehicles. It is to be equipped with Rheinmetall’s Lance turret system and armed with a 30mm automatic cannon.
In 2016, the Boxer CRV was selected under Australia’s Land 400 Phase 2 project as one of two candidates for Risk Mitigation Activity trials, where the 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle had to demonstrate its survivability, mobility, firepower, and command and control.
Ben Hudson, head of Rheinmetall’ s Vehicle Systems Division, said: ‘The Boxer CRV is highly protected against both asymmetric threats that have been faced by Australian soldiers in recent operations, while also being highly protected against conventional battlefield threats that our soldiers may face one day in a conventional war-fighting scenario.’
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
Hungary set to begin using Hero 400 loitering munitions
Developed by Israel's Uvision and with systems being sold in the thousands to multiple European NATO countries and the US, the Hero family of loitering systems is also in production in the US and Italy, the latter through Rheinmetall.
-
Croatia orders Leopards and CAESAR howitzers as Lithuania orders more CAESARs
The Leopard is becoming the tank of choice in central and eastern Europe as Croatia joins Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary in ordering the platform. Lithuania and Croatia have also signed for CAESAR howitzers.
-
Light Reconnaissance Strike – enabling a vital mission set (Studio)
A new system-of-systems concept will unlock digital integration of sensors and weapons for Light Forces, allowing them to shape the battlefield environment on their own terms and upgrade legacy platforms.