All six hundred and twenty three Mechanised Infantry Vehicle Boxers are being delivered to a common build standard, which has made variant and build configuration effectively the same thing.
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative member for Huntingdon, asked for an updated breakdown of the 623 vehicles by variant, build configuration and role, referring back to an answer given in June 2021.
Luke Pollard, Minister of State for Defence Readiness and Industry, said: “I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 18 December 2025 to Question 100025, which set out the number of Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) Boxers contracted for by variant. This information remains extant. As the Boxer programme has developed, build configuration and variant have become effectively interchangeable, with all 623 MIV Boxer vehicles being delivered to a common build standard. Consequently, a separate breakdown by build configuration is no longer relevant.
“The Department keeps under review its approach to the disclosure of information, taking account of a range of factors. An updated breakdown by role could pose a risk to operational security and, therefore, I am unable to provide this information.”
A common build standard means the hulls and drive modules come off the line identically whatever mission module they eventually carry, which is the design logic of the vehicle: the mission module can be lifted off and another fitted. Ministers confirmed earlier this month that Boxers will be able to recover one another in the field and that the vehicle has been built with the electrical and physical margin to take a remote weapon station later.
Boxer is being built in Britain by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land at Telford and Stockton-on-Tees, with WFEL at Stockport, under contracts covering the 623 vehicles for the British Army.
Yes, just build the vehicles; the modular options can come afterwards if they are slowing the process. That said, there’s not much point to Boxer if we don’t take advantage of the payload flexibility. So, the UK will get 695 units in total if I include the 155 howitzer.