Rheinmetall delivers first 25 Boxer vehicles to Australian Army

The German company will supply a total of 211 of the vehicles under Australia's $5.2 billion acquisition program 

Rheinmetall delivers first 25 Boxer vehicles to Australian Army

A Boxer vehicle. Photo: Rheinmetall

German company Rheinmetall announced Wednesday the delivery of the first 25 Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) to the Australian Army under the $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability project.

Rheinmetall is to deliver a total of 211 Boxer 8x8 vehicles in different versions, including 131 CRVs, to replace the Army’s Australian Light Armored Vehicles (ASLAV) under the project. Delivery of the first 25 vehicles enables the Army to continue towards Initial Operating Capability on schedule as Rheinmetall moves into the next phase of the LAND 400 Phase 2 program, the company said.

The Boxer is a heavily protected wheeled armored vehicle. Its modular architecture is said to enable the production of a variety of variants unmatched by any other vehicle system. The company said in its statement that this aspect explains the rapid growth in sales, and new variants and upgrades are being planned. To date, some 1,200 vehicles in more than 20 different configurations have been ordered by four NATO nations: Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania and the UK, Rheinmetall said.