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.
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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.
I will lay bare my soul!
If (perish the thought) we go to war in europe, tracked vehicles would always cope but wheeled vehicles would not.
I do not trust either the French or the Germans in cooperative projects, they tend to jump ship too often.
I believe that both design and build should be British ( preferably B.A.E.) ^.^
The irony being that the UK jumped ship from Boxer, before rejoining a decade later while Germany stuck with it….
DM, my understanding of the UK withdrawal from the Boxer programme was primarily increasing weight and the capability to transport by air were critical British priorities. At the time, allegedly, no definitive total weight was forthcoming; hence, cancellation in preference for FRES, which would be designed from the outset to meet air freight capability.
Yes, I recall similar. FRES was also a disaster, over a billion spent for no vehicle at the end of it I understand.
FRES was broken up, and resulted in the SV and MIV programs after some round abouts.
Thanks.
So mostly political as opposed to any real issue with the product?
The tracks vs wheels is an interesting one.
The French got rid of most of their tracked assets, they’re happy enough.
In the Cold War, the Russians had a mix of tracked and wheeled.
Wheeled can self deploy without a huge logistics train that we no longer have.
Tracked more flexible.
A mix seems to offer the best balance.
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.
Many moons ago a friend of mine had her passing out parade from das Heer’s Phase 1 training. As part of the event they had a Boxer set up that guests could look inside (ambulance variant). Was very impressed at the time I recall, but this was nearly a decade ago now so….
I recall a conversation we had long, long ago on Boxer variants> I’d suggested cheaper types for supporting roles. You took me to task on that 😉 and you discussed especially the Boxer ambulance variant.
Makes sense then!
I have no issues with Boxer all said and told. But do not believe they should be the solution for everything. I think 2 Armoured Brigades of 3 Div should be totally tracked, and a huge glob of Patria would be more appropriate for signals, rear echelon etc. I think these would be perfect for 1 Div.
I agree.
Some supporting info regards Boxer.
623 Boxer ordered. ( Of which )
146 Infantry Carrier.
200 Specialist Carrier.
212 Command and Control.
65 Ambulance.
Other variants planned which might not see the light of day. There was at one time funding allocated for over 1,000 vehicles but with the costs of the vehicle assume some will be deleted for cheaper types. Patria Cavs being the obvious thought?
Repair and Recovery.
Armoured Mortar Vehicle.
Armoured Vehicle Launched Bridge.
Serpens Deep Find Radar.
Mounted Close Combat Overwatch.
Counter UAV Vehicle.
FOIA I found which lists units due to receive the vehicle:
1 RRF.
5 R.
1 RW.
1 M.
As the Mech Infantry Battalions, all on Warrior currently.
And non infantry:
22 RE. This is an Armoured Engineer Regiment.
26 RE. The other Armoured Engineer Regiment, both for 12 and 20 Bdes.
1 RS. Will be interesting to see if this changes, as I understand 1 RS has moved from 3 Div to 1 Div as Divisional Signal Regiment, will it need Boxer?
15 RS. Now supports both 12 and 20 Bdes as the Royal Signals is stretched and 1 RS has been moved away.
1st RHA. SPG Reg for 3 DRSB
5 RA. The Army’s ISTAR Regiment.
19 RA. SPG Reg for 3 DRSB
7 ADG. (unit to be confirmed) Latest seems to be that Patria will be base vehicle for StarStreak as Stormer replacement.
3 REME. Armoured CS Battalion.
4 REME. Armoured CS Battalion. Both for 12/20 Bdes.
FOI document released to Defence Eye 20 June 2024.
Latest answer by Pollard:
“Under current plans, Boxer is being fielded in supporting roles to Armoured, ARMOURED CAVALRY, and Armoured Infantry units within 3 Division. These roles include C2, Specialist Troop Carrier, and Medical functions.”
In that FOIA list of units, there are no Regiments of the Armoured Cavalry listed.
Before this, Pollard stated:
“Under current plans, Boxer is INITIALLY being fielded as a SUPPORTING CAPABILITY to Armoured units within 3 Division, before being fielded to Mechanized Infantry units between 2030 and 2035.