Rheinmetall wins $2.9 billion contract to supply Boxer 8x8s to the Bundeswehr

The German Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) will procure up to 123 Boxer 8x8 vehicles from Rheinmetall in a deal worth around €2.7 billion (US$2.9 billion).

The deal, which was this week approved by Budget Committee of the German Bundestag following a contract signed in March 2023, will include service and maintenance with delivery scheduled to begin in 2025.

The “Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie” (Heavy Weapon Carrier for the Infantry) will provide the German Army’s medium forces with firepower and rapid mobility. It has been based on the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV), the Rheinmetall-supplied wheeled armoured reconnaissance vehicle of the Australian Defence Force.

The 8x8 combat vehicles will feature an armoured reconnaissance mission module including the two-person Lance turret. Its main weapon will be the Rheinmetall MK30-2 ABM automatic cannon and its multi-role guided missile system will enable the vehicle to provide anti-tank defence.

Armin Papperger, chairman of the executive board of Rheinmetall AG, revealed: “In order to be able to provide the Army with the required combat vehicles as quickly as possible, we are integrating not only our German but also the Australian sites in our Rheinmetall network.”

The Bundeswehr vehicles will utilise production capacities at Rheinmetall’s Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) in Redbank, Queensland, alongside Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles being produced for the Australian Defence Forces.

John Abunassar, head of Rheinmetall’s Vehicle Systems Division, claimed the deal would be “one of the largest Australian defence exports in the country’s history”. Rheinmetall, which employs more than 900 employees in the country, claimed to be further integrating Australian defence industry capabilities within the company’s global supply chains via the Boxer deal.

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