Boxer (armoured fighting vehicle)
The Boxer is a multirole armoured fighting vehicle designed by an international consortium to accomplish a number of operations through the use of installable mission modules. The governments participating in the Boxer programme have changed as the programme has developed. The Boxer vehicle is produced by the ARTEC GmbH (armoured vehicle technology) industrial group, and the programme is being managed by OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). ARTEC GmbH is based in Munich; its parent companies are Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH and Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH on the German side, and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland B.V. for the Netherlands. Overall, Rheinmetall has a 64% stake in the joint venture.
| Boxer | |
|---|---|
Australian Boxer CRV (Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle) variant in 2016 | |
| Type | Armoured fighting vehicle |
| Place of origin | Germany Netherlands |
| Service history | |
| In service | Since 2011 |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Wars | Afghanistan war (ISAF) NATO Response Force |
| Production history | |
| Designer | ARTEC GmbH |
| Designed | 1998–2009 |
| Manufacturer | Rheinmetall Krauss-Maffei Wegmann |
| Unit cost | |
| Produced | 2009–present |
| No. built | 674 as of November 2023 |
| Specifications (see drive module) | |
| Crew | See Boxer variants and mission modules |
Main armament | See Boxer variants and mission modules |
A distinctive and unique feature of the vehicle is its composition of a drive platform module and interchangeable mission modules which allow several configurations to meet different operational requirements. The drive platform has been produced and seen service in the following standards A0, A1, A2, A3 and an A2/A3 hybrid. The changes are the result of improvements resulting from the mission in Afghanistan, and modifications wanted by some of the clients. The main changes are the level of protection, the suspension capacity to take its weight, and the engine.
Other names in use or previously used for Boxer are GTK (Gepanzertes Transport-Kraftfahrzeug; armoured transport vehicle) Boxer and MRAV (Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle). Confirmed Boxer customers as of March 2024 are Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Australia and the UK. Ukraine will also receive the RCH-155 based on the Boxer, but the client / order comes from the German federal government.