At the end of December, the German Bundeswehr ordered a thousand logistic vehicles from Rheinmetall worth €382 million ($616m).
The order is the third call-off from a framework contract signed in July 2017 encompassing over 2,200 military trucks, which the Bundeswehr is purchasing as part of its “Unprotected Transport Vehicles” project. Of the thousand vehicles just ordered, 675 have a five-ton payload, while the remaining 325 have a load-carrying capacity of 15 tons.
Starting in January 2020, the trucks will be built at the Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV) plant in Vienna, with delivery to be complete by the end of the year.
Featuring a basic military configuration, these robust, off-road-capable vehicles will be available to support the Bundeswehr’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) 2023 mission.
Awarded by the Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) on 5 July 2017, the framework contract, which runs for a period of seven years, encompasses a total of 2,271 vehicles from RMMV’s HX family. As a first step, 558 vehicles were ordered right away with a further call-off of 252 vehicles in May 2019 and another 60 in November 2019.
Most of the principal components – the engines, axles, transmissions and build-ons – are made in Germany. The vehicles are assembled at the RMMV plant in Vienna.
Current user countries include the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. Norway and Sweden have also placed substantial truck orders with Rheinmetall.