Rheinmetall continues Boxer A2 upgrade
The German Army is to receive another 27 modernised Boxer FüFz command vehicles, under a new contract for Rheinmetall Landsysteme from national defence procurement agency BAAINBw.
This contract is worth ‘in the lower two-digit million-euro range’, Rheinmetall announced on 11 February.
The Boxers will be upgraded to the A2 standard, continuing a process that began with 38 vehicles in 2017 and completing an overhaul of the 65-vehicle FüFz fleet.
Work on the latest upgrade is scheduled to begin in March 2021 ‘with return of the vehicles to the Bundeswehr slated to take place during the 2022-2024 timeframe’, Rheinmetall announced on 11 February.
The FüFz vehicle (one of four Boxer 8x8 variants serving in the German Army) functions as a mobile tactical operations centre or command post. The vehicles feature a range of radio equipment and advanced C4I systems.
The A2 upgrade entails a wide range of actions, among them: modernisation of the driver visualisation system; the exhaust emission and air-conditioning ducts; the towing gear; the driver station; headlight technology; software and system security modifications.
Rheinmetall added that the SATCOM capability, voice and data transmission and IT equipment on the FüFz vehicles will be improved.
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