The first of 25 Rheinmetall Defence Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) being built in Germany as the initial tranche for Project Land 400 Phase 2 arrived in Brisbane in mid-July, sources disclosed.
Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) declined to comment, but the sources said the drive module of the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) variant would be joined at an interim facility at Damascus Barracks early in August by a turreted reconnaissance variant.
The platforms are the first of 13 reconnaissance vehicles and 12 MPVs that are being constructed in Germany as part of the Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability program, under which RDA was selected in March 2018 to provide 211 Boxer CRVs between 2019 and 2026 at a cost of $3.3 billion.
The balance of the vehicles will be produced in Ipswich at RDA’s $170 million Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) which will be completed next year.
The ADF will deploy several CRV variants. The reconnaissance variant, accounting for 133 of the 211 vehicles, is equipped with Rheinmetall’s digital LANCE turret system and armed with a 30mm automatic cannon.
The CRVs will replace Army’s ageing fleet of 257 Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVs) and will undertake missions ranging from regional stability and peacekeeping through to high-end operations.
Some Australian industry content is being incorporated in the 25 German-manufactured vehicles, the sources said.