Boxer MRAV

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	3 (+8)
Armor	AMAP composite armour
Main armament	40mm automatic grenade launcher (Heckler & Koch GMG) or .50 CAL heavy machine gun (M2HB)
Engine	MTU 8V 199 TE20 Diesel 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.

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). However, in early 2001 the Netherlands signed a Memorandum of Understanding and joined the project. 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).

Each partner in the programme (including the UK) was to receive four prototypes by July 2004. The first prototype was delivered to Germany in 2002 and was subject to evaluation trials in Germany. The first Dutch prototype was delivered in October 2003. Production deliveries were scheduled to commence in 2004, but the numerous design changes and political problems delayed production until 2008.