21. August 2013
Delivery of 200th BOXER vehicle (1st Netherlands BOXER)
On 21 August the 200th produced BOXER vehicle was delivered by the manufacturer ARTEC. The BOXER programme is a major bi-national co-operation between Germany and the Netherlands. The 1st Netherlands BOXER ended up as the 200th BOXER vehicle which was delivered on 21st of August. The BOXER is a heavy 8x8 all terrain armoured utility vehicle produced in several vehicle versions for Germany and the Netherlands.
Netherlands Ambulance vehicle
The series delivery of the German BOXERs started in 2009 with the official ‘roll-out’ in September 2009. The first five BOXERs (GTFz) were operationally deployed by Germany in August 2011 in Afghanistan. Feedback from the user indicates that the vehicles are operated without major problems and are very well appreciated by the crews. In 2012 another 23 German BOXERs were deployed to the area of operation. The 100th BOXER was delivered in January 2012 by Krauss-Maffei Wegman (KMW), one of the 2 manufacturers of the German BOXERs. They produce the Gruppentransportfahrzeug (GTFz), Fahrschulfahrzeug (FahrSchFz) and schwergepanzertes Sanitätskraftfahrzeug (sgSanKfz). Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) produces the Führungsfahrzeug (FüFz) and some of the sgSanKfz. Both companies are with the BOXER part of the ARTEC consortium, responsible to manufacture and deliver the total of 472 BOXERs.
The actual delivery schedule resulted in the 1st Netherlands BOXER to be the 200th. It is delivered by a subsidiary of RMMV, RMMV-NL which is situated in Ede, Netherlands. It is the 1st Driver Taining Vehicle (DTV) of which the Netherlands will receive only 8. The rest of the total of their 200 BOXERs are an Ambulance (AMB, 52), Command Post (CP, 60), Cargo (CA, 27) and Engineer group vehicle (GNGP, 53).
The 1st vehicle will be completed by the Netherlands forces with the standard military equipment and is already scheduled 1.5 week later for the first driving lessons at the Netherlands Army driver training school in Oirschot. The original delivery of the Netherlands BOXERs was to start in 2011 but significant improvements to the design of the vehicle caused some 2 years delay.
Several BOXER prototype vehicles went through years of extensive trials and tests. Performance, protection, mobility, communication, testability, ergonomics, logistics, armament - every aspect was thoroughly checked by teams under OCCAR/BOXER Programme Division leadership and in cooperation with industry and the Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) at the various test facilities of industry and the Bundeswehr. Climatic conditions of the BOXER for example were tested in the climate chamber to -46° C and in the hot desert in Australia to +56° C. Mobility testing resulted in a maximum combat weight of 36.5 tons with the vehicle capable of driving with its independent wheel suspension at a maximum speed of 85 km/h. It has a permanent 8 x 8 drive with lockable differentials on all axles and an off-road logic in the ABS, combined with a central tyre inflation system and run-flat tires. The powerful V8 530 KW (720 HP) gives the BOXER a range of maximum 1050 km, while the engine is even exchangeable in the field within 30 minutes.