In a digital signing ceremony today, the procurement of a total of 123 new heavy infantry weapon carriers (sWaTrg Inf) for the Bundeswehr was agreed. Following yesterday’s approval by the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag, the government-to-government contract between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Australian government was concluded.
To supply the armored vehicles, Australia will sign a corresponding production contract with the manufacturer Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) to supply the armored vehicles. The Boxer sWaTrg Inf vehicles will be manufactured by RDA using the production capacities at the Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence in Redbank, Queensland. https://militaeraktuell.at/als-partner-gemeinsam-vorwaerts-kommen/ A further support contract will be concluded between the Bundeswehr Procurement Office and Rheinmetall Landsysteme (RLS), which serves to provide support during use and includes an availability guarantee. The contract for the heavy weapon carrier is framed by a four-party contract that regulates various issues between all parties involved, including the warranty. The project is being financed from the Bundeswehr special fund. The project is being implemented on the basis of the Australian Boxer variant “Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle – RECON II”, which was developed there in its own “LAND 400 Phase 2” project. This system consists of a Boxer vehicle module and a specific mission module with a manned turret. The basic configuration of the vehicle enables the short-term provision of a further variant in the Boxer product family and medium-term supply via the Bundeswehr’s existing logistics system. Additional training can also be significantly reduced. At the same time, the purchase of market-available vehicles in Australia ensures that the army’s medium forces can be equipped as quickly as possible.
As the successor system to the Wiesel 1 weapon carrier, the wheeled armored vehicle is used for direct tactical fire support and long-range anti-tank defense for the infantry units of the Bundeswehr. It combines the capabilities of two Wiesel 1 variants and the additional vehicles used to transport ammunition in a single platform and represents an ideal mix of high availability, protection and modularity. The weapon system also makes it possible to take short-term steps in the direction of the Middle Forces independently of other nations and thus achieve the interoperability with allies that is urgently required in the medium term. A first reference vehicle is to be available for demonstration purposes before the end of the first half of the year. A total of 123 heavy weapon carriers will be delivered to Germany. The first 19 production vehicles are expected from 2025. The remaining 103 vehicles are to be delivered by 2030, with an order value of 2.7 billion euros. Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG: “We are very proud to be supplying the Infantry Heavy Weapon Carrier, a key element of the German Army’s new ‘Medium Forces’ category. 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.”
Here for further reports about Rheinmetall and here to further reports on the Bundeswehr.
