Boxer (armoured fighting vehicle)

Boxer
Boxer configured for Australian Land 400 Phase 2
Type	Armoured fighting vehicle
Place of origin	Germany/Netherlands
Service history
In service	2008–present
Used by	See Operators
Specifications
Weight	24,000 kg (standard); 36,500 kg (combat)
Length	7.93 m (26 ft 0 in)
Width	2.99 m (9 ft 10 in)
Height	2.37 m (7 ft 9 in) (baseline vehicle)
Crew	Varies by role. In APC configuration - 3 + maximum of 8
Armor	AMAP composite armour
Main armament	various, depends on configuration
Engine	MTU 8V 199 TE20 Diesel rated at EURO 3 530 kW (711 hp)
Power/weight	16.1 kW/t (max weight)
Suspension	independent double wishbone coil (8x8)
Operational range	1,100 km (684 mi)
Speed	103 km/h (64 mph)

The Boxer is a German-Dutch multirole armoured fighting vehicle designed to accomplish a number of operations through the use of installable mission modules. It is produced by the ARTEC GmbH (ARmoured vehicle TEChnology) industrial group, and the programme is being managed by OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). ARTEC GmbH is seated in Munich, its parent companies are Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH and Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV) on the German side, and Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Nederland B.V. for the Netherlands. Overall, Rheinmetall has a 64% stake in the joint venture.

Other names are GTK (Gepanzertes Transport Kraftfahrzeug; armoured transport vehicle) Boxer and MRAV for Multirole Armoured Vehicle.

The Boxer is a cooperative European design project aimed at producing the next generation of armoured utility vehicle. The project was originally started as a joint venture between Germany, Britain and France, but France left the programme in 1999, later to pursue their own design, the Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie (VBCI).

Following negotiations, a contract was awarded in November 1999 for eight prototype vehicles, four for Germany and four for the UK. Total value of this contract was £70 million. In February 2001, the Netherlands joined the programme and 12 prototypes were built, four for each of the three countries. On 12 December 2002 the GTK/MRAV/PWV was unveiled in Munich, Germany. The second prototype (PT2) was rolled out and the vehicle was named Boxer. At this time the first production run was to have been for 600 vehicles, 200 for each country.

In July 2003, shortly after the start of the Iraq war, the UK Ministry of Defence announced its intention to withdraw from the Boxer programme and focus on the Future Rapid Effect System (FRES).