BOXER prototype presented to OCCAR and the participating nations
01/16/2003
On 12th of December 2002, ARTEC presented the German Armoured Personal Carrier (APC) 8x8 wheeled vehicle prototype in the GTK/MRAV/PWV Programme (known as "BOXER") to OCCAR (Organisation Conjoint de Coopération en matière d'Armament) and to senior government representatives from the nations participating in this programme: Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. ARTEC is the Industrial Prime Contractor, based in Munich and represents German companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Landsysteme, Alvis from the United Kingdom and Stork from the Netherlands.
The European armaments agency, OCCAR, was represented by OCCAR's Director, Dr Klaus von Sperber and the participating nations in the BOXER-Programme were represented by Lord Bach, (Britain's Minister for Defence Procurement), Mr. Van Dord being the National Armament Director of the Netherlands and representing Mr. Van der Knaap (State Secretary for Defence of the Netherlands) and Dr Peter Eickenboom (Secretary for Defence Affairs in Germany).
Dr. Eickenboom emphasized the importance of this milestone in a programme of considerable importance to the Federal Republic of Germany. He stated that the BOXER is to replace the M113 armoured personnel carrier and, over the long term, also the FUCHS armoured transport vehicle. Owing to its air transportability, its modular construction and its protection factor, it is expected to enhance Germany's capabilities on the security policy front – also with a view to changed defence tasks.
The BOXER, he said, is a joint project of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany and thus represents part of the effort to strengthen the cooperation of European nations in the field of defence policies. "It is our mutual conviction that this is necessary due to the synergy effects for the European nations in order to maintain a sustained and independent capability in the armament sector. The difficulties which are involved in this type of partnership and which will also affect the design and development process of the Boxer must not discourage us", said Dr. Eickenboom.
Mr. Van Dord noted that the development of BOXER, in co-operation with Germany and Great Britain, is in line with the aspirations of the Netherlands to replace the current generation of armoured vehicles in-service and the Dutch ideas on the further intensification of European defence co-operation. He took the opportunity to emphasise the commitment of the Netherlands to the BOXER-programme. Mr. Van Dord furthermore expressed the NL wish that the roll-out of this BOXER will be an inspiration to all to continue along the road of increasing European defence co-operation and more efficient expenditure of European defence funds.
Lord Bach stated that he believed BOXER was a good example of European engineering excellence, offering a vehicle concept with which the armed forces and industry should be proud to be associated. Referring to OCCAR and its part in managing the procurement for the national partners, he stated that OCCAR was created to improve the efficiencies of the Ministries of Defence in managing international procurement and to strive for more effective delivery of collaborative programmes. The UK sees European collaboration as playing a vital role in fulfilling UK equipment needs. Lord Bach said that he was delighted to celebrate the success of this European collaboration.
OCCAR's Dr. von Sperber stated that OCCAR is aiming to show that European collaboration can, and will, work given the right environment. He said that the OCCAR organisation fully recognises this tall order and underlined that neither OCCAR nor industry could manage this challenge alone and expect to win. Partnering is required for maintaining a successful position in the global market, while satisfying the demands of nations for operational and cost benefits, as well as effectiveness and efficiency in the work undertaken.
From the European defence industry perspective, valuable experience is being gained from this programme, representing a milestone for industry, OCCAR and the countries involved. It is the first step on the road to in-depth collaboration at a European level. The visible outcome of the BOXER-programme will be a vehicle family which will enable all the participating nations to equip their armed forces with the most advanced vehicles. For the armed forces, the vehicle will serve as a platform that is able to meet the challenges posed by today's multi-spectral missions.
The key features of the BOXER are:
* High level of protection against anti-tank mines and medium-calibre ammunition on all sides
* Excellent tactical and operational mobility
* Substantial useable volume, delivering high payload capacity for a wide range of roles.
The BOXER is a family of vehicles consisting of a drive module and various de-mountable mission module variants. Its modular design ensures maximum flexibility and offers clear advantages, as follows:
* Balanced system design reflecting an optimized mix of weight, cost, protection and high mobility requirements;
* Integrated Logistics Support (ILS);
* Weight of the extensively equipped vehicle being 25.2 tons (including a high degree of protection and NBC / Aircon) and offering a further payload of up to 8 tons;
* Ergonomics in accordance with the latest standards.
The BOXER presented on 12th December, a German APC variant, has been successfully integrated at KMW facilities and will be used for consolidated industry/ user trials. The design & development programme consists of the design of 9 different variants and a total of 12 prototypes that will all be tested during qualification trials.
The first production batch option as per the development contract, consists of the supply of 200 vehicles for each participating nation and will be exercised after the successful completion of the development phase in 2005.
Contact
Rheinmetall AG
Corporate Sector Defence
Press and Information
Oliver Hoffmann
Rheinmetall Platz 1
40476 Düsseldorf
Germany
Phone: +49 211 473-4748
Fax: +49 211 473-4157
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