WFEL begins Boxer production work in the UK
WFEL recently passed a milestone in UK-based production of the Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle. (Photo: UK MoD/Crown Copyright)
Boxer sub-assemblies are being turned out at a factory in Stockport.
WFEL announced on 6 July that it has begun production of the Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) in the UK at its recently built Stockport facility.
‘It is a number of years since any new armoured vehicles have been manufactured in the UK,’ the company noted in a statement.
It added that fabrication of vehicle sub-assemblies has been going on in recent weeks at the Stockport plant.
Under a technology transfer programme between WFEL and its German parent company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), UK welders have been transferred on secondment to the Boxer factory in Hamburg.
‘Here, staff worked on the production of Boxer vehicles for KMW’s existing customers and are now fully qualified to undertake the complex work required to produce fabricated Drive Module hulls for the UK Boxer variants,’ WEFL claimed.
Series production of British Army Boxers began in Germany in early June.
Most MIV manufacturing activity will have been transferred to the UK in 2023, principally at Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land and WFEL facilities.
As well as manufacturing armoured hulls for the MIV, WFEL will be responsible for assembly, integration and testing of 225 Boxer vehicles under the £2.3 billion ($3.17 billion) contract signed between UK MoD and the German ARTEC consortium in November 2019.
WFEL also recently awarded multiple subcontracts to the UK supply chain for the Boxer programme, including deals with Horstman, David Brown Santasalo and BCW Engineering.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
![Israel’s Elbit Systems riding high and reports almost a billion dollars in orders to close 2024]()
Israel’s Elbit Systems riding high and reports almost a billion dollars in orders to close 2024
Elbit Systems has signed another US$967 million in orders in the past three months after reporting its land revenues increased by 24% for 3Q2024 compared to 3Q 2023 thanks to increasing ammunition and munition sales in Israel.
-
![Italy signs $784 million deal for tactical and logistic trucks]()
Italy signs $784 million deal for tactical and logistic trucks
The contract is for the supply of a variety of military logistic platforms equipped with tactical cabins and based on the new range of IDV SMR6 trucks (Standard Military Range), which includes 4×4, 8×8 and 10x10 variants.
-
![Poland declares capability for Wisła medium-range air defence system]()
Poland declares capability for Wisła medium-range air defence system
Poland has been investing heavily in new defence equipment, including billions-of-dollars in air defence systems such as Narew and Wisła to provide multi-tier coverage, as well as in C2 systems such as IBCS.
-
![US sanctions fail to rattle India as it looks to Russian long-range radar]()
US sanctions fail to rattle India as it looks to Russian long-range radar
India has been navigating a strategic balancing act in its defence modernisation efforts as it considers deals with Russia and the US.
-
![Land Warfare Preview 2025: Questions remain in a time of change]()
Land Warfare Preview 2025: Questions remain in a time of change
The land war in Ukraine has dominated the posture, spending and actions of Russia and NATO countries for two years. With a new US Government committed to ending the conflict early in 2025, there are implications on all three of those fronts.
