The hundredth Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle has been delivered to the British Army.
The vehicles are being procured through the European armaments organisation OCCAR and delivered by the ARTEC consortium that brings together KNDS and Rheinmetall, working with the National Armaments Director Group and the British Army.
Boxer is being manufactured in the United Kingdom at RBSL’s facility in Telford and at KNDS UK’s site in Stockport, with a supply chain that, according to the MoD, spans the breadth of the country and supports hundreds of skilled jobs.
The platform itself is a modular eight-wheeled armoured vehicle developed jointly by Germany and the Netherlands and produced under licence by the ARTEC consortium. The design separates the drive module from the interchangeable mission module, allowing the same hull and powertrain to carry a wide range of role-specific configurations. The British variants in current production cover the infantry carrier, command, ambulance and specialist carrier configurations, with further variants expected to follow as the programme moves through its production phase.
The Army has placed orders for more than 600 vehicles in total, replacing capability previously delivered by the Warrior and FV432 fleets and forming the principal mechanised infantry mount for the deployable divisions.
Martyn Williams, Senior Responsible Owner for Boxer at the National Armaments Director Group, said the milestone reflected the breadth of the collaboration behind the programme. “The delivery of the 100th Boxer to the UK Ministry of Defence is a significant milestone and reflects the tremendous work done by OCCAR, ARTEC, KNDS, Rheinmetall, the NAD Group and wider MOD to establish two UK Boxer production lines and the broad supply chains across the UK,” he said, as quoted in the MoD’s release. “The international collaboration through OCCAR and ARTEC has seen technology transfer to the UK, building on the UK’s proud history of armoured vehicle manufacturing.”
Rebecca Richards, Managing Director of Rheinmetall UK, said the milestone was a marker of the workforce and supplier effort behind the programme. “Reaching the 100-vehicle milestone is a significant achievement for the teams delivering Boxer in the UK,” she said. “It reflects the dedication and expertise of our workforce, suppliers and partners, whose contribution is helping to build long-term manufacturing capacity and strengthen sovereign industrial capability. Boxer is creating lasting skills and investment while delivering a world-class capability for the British Army and supporting prosperity across the UK.”
Tony Webb, Operations Director at KNDS UK, described the delivery as a demonstration of the value of long-term investment in the domestic defence industrial base. “The delivery of the 100th Boxer vehicle demonstrates the value of long-term investment in sovereign defence capability and the strength of the UK’s defence industrial base,” he said. “Programmes such as Boxer sustain critical skills, support SMEs across a resilient national supply chain and drive investment in advanced manufacturing. This milestone reflects the power of collaboration between government, industry and international partners to generate lasting strategic advantage for the UK.”
The Boxer programme has a long and twisting history in British armoured vehicle planning. The United Kingdom was an original participant in the multinational development effort that produced the platform during the 1990s and early 2000s, but withdrew from the programme in 2003 before later rejoining in 2018 under the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle requirement. The decision to return to the design came after a series of intermediate Army wheeled and tracked vehicle competitions, and the resulting contract was structured to embed significant production work in the United Kingdom. Both Telford and Stockport were stood up as production lines under the agreement, with the aim of building a sovereign manufacturing capability for the type that could be sustained through the programme’s lifetime and used to support exports.
All the old issues long discussed have yet to be resolved, but good to get to the 100 milestone.
Don’t think anyone else save 1 RRF have the vehicle yet?
Curious to see who ends up with it, as a FOIA I have listing units due to get Boxer seems to be contradicted by the latest written answers by Pollard.
Surely the army recycling bins can not handle any more of this rubbish
Why rubbish, Colin? I don’t know of any issues with the vehicle, it’s protection, or systems? The wider issue was losing Armoured Infantry and the firepower provided with Warrior for just about the most expensive APC there is.
And previous to that, the Strike Brigade idea that divorced the infantry in these from the firepower which was to be provided by Ajax. Long done to death and indeed died a death so no need to expand there.
Don’t see any reason why Boxer won’t be a superb vehicle, just don’t want us to buy too many for all roles, when cheaper options exist to get a better balance of quality vs quantity for supporting vehicles.
Other European armies have them in service/on order but ours will be rubbish?
Boxer has way less issues than yourself, apparently.
I saw one of these in the flesh at Bovington, it has to be said they look more impressive in the flesh, photos don’t do them justice.