Today, the procurement office of the Bundeswehr the Bundeswehr will be able to order up to 6,500 additional unprotected transport vehicles (UTF) worth up to 3.5 billion euros over the next seven years. The President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), Annette Lehnigk-Emden, signed the agreement for the manufacture and production of the transport vehicles in the payload classes 3.5 tons, 5 tons and 15 tons with the company Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicle (RMMV) GmbH.
“The success story of the UTF 5t and 15t vehicle family in the Bundeswehr began with the first delivery of eight military, unprotected trucks in 2018. These vehicles were so indispensable for replacing the old fleet that the first procurement framework contract was exhausted ahead of schedule with an intake of 3,271 vehicles,” said Lehnigk-Emden at the signing ceremony. Since then, the vehicles have proven themselves to be robust and reliable in a wide range of transport tasks. https://militaeraktuell.at/rmmv-einblick-in-die-hx81-fertigung-in-wien/ The costs for the first firm order of 610 vehicles of the all-wheel drive two-, three- and four-axle military trucks amount to around 312 million euros and will be financed both from the Bundeswehr special fund and from the regular defence budget. 250 of these will be available to the troops from November this year. The framework agreement gives the Bundeswehr the flexibility to order additional vehicles as required. The project was approved last week by the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag as part of a so-called “25 million euro bill”.
The UTFs will permanently ensure logistical supplies at home, during training and exercises and in all operational scenarios. The ability to accommodate, for example, command and information systems, a remote-controlled weapon station or protective equipment not only makes these vehicles adaptable to the needs of the troops, but also forms an elementary building block in logistics with regard to the Bundeswehr’s focus on national and alliance defense. “The framework agreement is an essential contribution to rapidly meeting the needs of the Bundeswehr’s logistics forces,” says Michael Wittlinger, CEO of Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH. “The uniform vehicle family and the equality with the vehicles of other user nations establish the HX trucks as central logistics vehicles within NATO and set a standard for interoperability and logistical efficiency in the Alliance. Once again, this order reflects our leading role in the global logistics vehicle market.” “The extremely short time of four months from the request for proposal to the signing of the contract once again underlines the fact that the turnaround in truck procurement has arrived,” says Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG. “We are grateful for the trust placed in Rheinmetall’s products.”
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