The Wiesel 2 will soon have had its day in the Bundeswehr. Now the production of the successor tank begins.
The Ministry of Defense wants to procure more than 100 Boxer wheeled armored vehicles with a 30mm automatic cannon from the 100 billion euro special fund for the Bundeswehr. To this end, Germany and Australia have signed a cooperation agreement, as the ministry announced on Thursday in Berlin.
The combat vehicles of the type “Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie” are intended to replace the Wiesel 2 weapon system in the German Army, a small tracked armored vehicle. According to the ministry, the production of the combat vehicle is currently underway. The aim is to get the first vehicles to be obtained in 2025. Rheinmetall produces the Boxer in Australia.
Conversion for different tasks possible
The modular architecture of the Boxer allows for a variety of variants like no other vehicle system, Rheinmetall announced on its website. The model can thus be equipped for different tasks such as transport, medical, artillery or armored personnel carriers.
So far, around 1,500 vehicles in twenty different versions are under contract in the four NATO member states Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania and the United Kingdom. In addition, the NATO partner state Australia also opted for the boxer.
