Moog has shown an air defence mission module for the Boxer 8×8 vehicle at Defence Vehicle Dynamics, the first time its Reconfigurable Integrated weapons Platform has been fitted to the wheeled platform, the company stated.
The configuration on display carries the XM914 30x113mm cannon, an M240 7.62mm machine gun, a four-missile canister of Stinger and a sixteen-missile canister of 70mm laser-guided rockets.
According to Moog, the module was brought together in a matter of weeks using British engineers at its own and KNDS’s United Kingdom facilities, and the company has committed to manufacturing the platform in Britain using a local supply chain.
Richard Allen-Miles, International Business Development at Moog, said: “We are delighted to showcase RIwP integrated on Boxer for the first time, giving UK and international delegates at DVD 2026 the opportunity to see the system in this air defence configuration. This collaboration demonstrates the strength of Moog’s relationships across industry and reinforces RIwP’s modularity across multiple mission sets. As operational requirements continue to evolve, RIwP provides the flexibility needed to support the British Army in meeting the challenges of the modern battlespace.”
Nick Drummond, UK Special Adviser for Strategy at KNDS, said: “KNDS and Moog have collaborated for decades and share common values, engineering excellence and complete customer orientation being chief among them. The addition of a RIwP-based mission module to the Boxer family is a compelling new collaboration, bringing customers an outstanding capability that leverages the best of both systems.”
The pairing rests on both products being built around the same idea. Boxer separates a common drive module from interchangeable mission modules, allowing a vehicle to be reconfigured for a different role rather than replaced, and the turret works on comparable lines, with the weapon fit changed to suit the task.
Two design features are highlighted by the company, the first being that the turret does not intrude below the vehicle roof, which preserves internal space for dismounted troops, and it allows reloading under armour for all direct-fire weapons, so a crew does not have to expose itself to replenish.
The Boxer integration is within a wideer series of configurations Moog says demonstrate how the system can be adapted while retaining a common architecture, including versions developed for the British Army’s specialist counter-drone requirement, for short-range air defence, and for force overwatch.
Ground-based air defence has risen sharply up the agenda for European armies since 2022. Tim Roca, the Labour MP for Macclesfield, told the Commons last week that Spain, Germany and France operate Patriot or SAMP/T systems while Britain lacks a ground-based missile interceptor, and asked what progress has been made on procuring the right range of air defences.
Wes Streeting replied that the Defence Investment Plan carries £790 million for new homeland integrated air and missile defence, alongside broader investment including directed energy weapons, Sea Viper upgrades and a new integrated air, space and missile defence operations centre.
On the counter-drone side specifically, Luke Pollard confirmed this month that hard-kill opportunities are being explored but that no decision has been taken to include a hard-kill counter-drone active protection system within the Mechanised Infantry Programme, which is the programme delivering Boxer to the British Army. The Army is receiving more than 600 Boxers, built in Britain by WFEL at Stockport and Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land at Telford, with the whole life cost of that programme having fallen from £7.009 billion to £5.151 billion over the past year following what ministers describe as Army reprioritisation and Defence Investment Plan outcomes.
It’s been proven these systems do not have to go on high end vehicles! Why waste boxer hulls that will be needed elsewhere doing the job they are being bought for.
Exists, works, has open integration of new missiles. Can go on Boxer, Foxhound or Patria CAVS. Been around in the UK configuration for several years. Just buy some!
Agreed.
But they’ll talk of moving at pace, while having years of assessments of the requirement, then a competition, then find there’s no money till sometime after 2030.
Translation. Nobody will make a decision as they’re terrified without going through the process.
On Boxer, tranche 2 is clearly dead, as has been suspected for some time, as it says “Army reprioritisation and investment plan outcomes” in their smoke and mirrors language.
Which, i agree with, if they spend those billions better, like on the RA, like on GBAD.
Yet last week Pollard admitted there wasn’t the money available at this time. Where’s it going?
“Wes Streeting replied that the Defence Investment Plan carries £790 million for new homeland integrated air and missile defence”
£790 million buys one anti ballistic missile radar from Lockheed Martin (LRDR) , it’s the same line item that has been kicking around since 2021 without being fulfilled (Project Lewis)
It won’t touch the sides on BMD for the UK and it won’t provide a single missile to intercept enemy ballistic missiles.
It’s beyond me why we are pissing billions up the wall on niche expeditionary capabilities when the single most important capability in modern warfare is defence against SRBM.
Iran has been able to defeat the USA and caused it to now withdraw almost all its bases from across the Middle East using ballistic missiles. The British army is now largely a waste of time and resources because it lacks this one capability.
And all Wes can do is talk about a radar instillation for the UK and how the navy can atleast defend itself against ballistic missiles despite the other two services having nothing in stock and zero plan to do anything about it.
In fairness to Wes and politicans in general this have nothing to do with them and everything to do with the service chiefs who were only too happy to over look this vital capability so they could prop up their respective pet project content that they would never have to do anything other than okay second fiddle to the USA.
For just the cost of Ajax alone the UK could have purchased a comprehensive missile defence capability with SAMP/T NG and we could have been transferring desperately needed missiles to Ukraine.