The German Army took delivery of its final Boxer armored transport vehicle from ARTEC GmbH, a Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall subsidiary, on June 22.
In total, the two parent companies of ARTEC GmbH have delivered 405 Boxer vehicles to the Bundeswehr. Among them were 72 Boxers in the ambulance variant, 65 command vehicles and 256 infantry group vehicles.
The contract for the 2nd batch, which was concluded in December 2015, comprised 131 GTK Boxers and was worth EUR 478 million.
Many experiences and modifications from the Afghanistan mission have been incorporated into the version of the GTK Boxer A2 that has now been delivered.
The A2 upgrade program integrated several changes, including changes to loading lists and stowage and also realizes several improvements. Those include an explosion suppression system and satellite communication. The A2 mission modules are enhanced in terms of survivability and effectiveness.
The modernization of the fire suppression system has resulted in improved protection of the overall system as well as the vehicle occupants, while the modified exhaust and cooling air routing minimizes the risk to soldiers dismounted in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle and at the same time reduces enemy reconnaissance through signature reduction in the form of hotspots on the vehicle or dust swirling in dry, sparsely vegetated terrain.
The combat upgrade commissioned by the Bundeswehr in 2017 provides for all Boxer vehicles, including those from the 1st batch, to be adapted to the A2 design standard. Most recently, in February 2021, the corresponding upgrade of a second batch of Boxer command vehicles to the A2 standard was contracted, so that from 2024 the entire fleet of a total of 65 German Boxer command vehicles will be available at the latest level.
