• The Rheinmetall Boxer CRV (left) prepares for another run through the Puckapunyal Armoured Fighting Vehicle Field Firing Training Area, while Defence members talk to BAE Systems Australia representatives about the Patria AMV35 (right) during the Land 400 Risk Mitigation Activity on 22 February 2017. In August the Land 400 Phase 2 RMA concluded. Credit: Defence
    The Rheinmetall Boxer CRV (left) prepares for another run through the Puckapunyal Armoured Fighting Vehicle Field Firing Training Area, while Defence members talk to BAE Systems Australia representatives about the Patria AMV35 (right) during the Land 400 Risk Mitigation Activity on 22 February 2017. In August the Land 400 Phase 2 RMA concluded. Credit: Defence
  • The BAE Systems Australia Patria AMV35 and the Rheinmetall Boxer CRV at Defence Establishment Fairbairn as part of The Army’s Land 400 Phase 2 project in Canberra for air transportability trials
    The BAE Systems Australia Patria AMV35 and the Rheinmetall Boxer CRV at Defence Establishment Fairbairn as part of The Army’s Land 400 Phase 2 project in Canberra for air transportability trials
  • Rheinmetall's Boxer CRV (L) will be put through its paces along with the BAE Systems/Patria AMV35 (R) for the Land 400 Phase 2 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle contract.
    Rheinmetall's Boxer CRV (L) will be put through its paces along with the BAE Systems/Patria AMV35 (R) for the Land 400 Phase 2 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle contract.
  • The Sentinel II – the vehicle shares very high levels of commonality with the amphibious Terrex 2 fielded for the USMC capability, and this has been offered as an option in the Land 400 Phase 2 RfT. Credit: ELSA
    The Sentinel II – the vehicle shares very high levels of commonality with the amphibious Terrex 2 fielded for the USMC capability, and this has been offered as an option in the Land 400 Phase 2 RfT. Credit: ELSA
  • The Rheinmetall Boxer CRV is subjected to a simulated IED blast test. Credit Defence
    The Rheinmetall Boxer CRV is subjected to a simulated IED blast test. Credit Defence
  • A Rheinmetall Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle drives onto the heavy vehicle deck of the Royal Australian Navy amphibious ship HMAS Canberra during a series of trials at Fleet Base East in Sydney on 6 December 2016. Credit: Defence
    A Rheinmetall Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle drives onto the heavy vehicle deck of the Royal Australian Navy amphibious ship HMAS Canberra during a series of trials at Fleet Base East in Sydney on 6 December 2016. Credit: Defence
  • A BAE Systems Australia Patria AMV35 combat reconnaissance vehicle (left) and a Rheinmetall Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle secured in the heavy vehicle deck of the Royal Australian Navy amphibious ship HMAS Canberra during a series of trials at Fleet Base East in Sydney on 6 December 2016.
    A BAE Systems Australia Patria AMV35 combat reconnaissance vehicle (left) and a Rheinmetall Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle secured in the heavy vehicle deck of the Royal Australian Navy amphibious ship HMAS Canberra during a series of trials at Fleet Base East in Sydney on 6 December 2016.
  • The AMV35 is subjected to a simulated IED blast test. Credit: Defence
    The AMV35 is subjected to a simulated IED blast test. Credit: Defence
  • The AMV35 with the 30mm Haegglunds turret. Credit: BAE Systems
    The AMV35 with the 30mm Haegglunds turret. Credit: BAE Systems
  • The AMV35 in action at Monegeetta. Credit: Defence
    The AMV35 in action at Monegeetta. Credit: Defence
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Rheinmetall's Boxer CRV takes out $5.2b Land 400 Phase 2

By Patrick Durrant | Sydney | 13 March 2018
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Today at Army's Enoggera barracks in Brisbane, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, along with Defence Minister Marise Payne and Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, has announced Rheinmetall Defence Australia as the recipient of the $5.2 billion Land 400 Phase 2 Project (Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle capability) tender which will deliver 211 vehicles to Army.

RDA's Boxer CRV edged out the adversary, the BAE Systems/Patria AMV35, in a close contest that saw initial delays as Australian Industry Content considerations were sorted and both vehicles were put through a rigorous Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA).

Political interference has marred the contest somewhat with both Queensland and Victorian State Governments fiercely advocating for what they see as their rightful spoils, indeed the strap at the bottom of the ABC's live feed from the announcement stated "Queensland wins $5 billion defence contract over Vic". BAE Systems has committed to building a defence hub at a site in Melbourne's Fishermans Bend where it had planned to build the 211 vehicles required by the Commonwealth under Phase 2. RDA has promised a Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence  (MILVEHCOE) will be established in Brisbane. The MILVEHCOE will be the focal point for the Land 400 combat vehicles, Land 121 logistics vehicles, and other complex defence projects. It will also draw on a supply network across Australia to deliver products and services from local industry into Rheinmetall’s Global Supply Chain.

The Rheinmetall Boxer CRV during last year's Risk Mitigation Activity. Credit: RDA

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said that although Rheinmetall had chosen Queensland to be the base for the vehicles' manufacture, this represented a spend of $1.8 billion out of a $2.8 billion Australian Industry Content (AIC) spend.

He added that $635 million of AIC would go to Victoria, with 170 jobs created in that state; 330 jobs will be created through the establishment of the MILVEHCOE. The remaining balance would be split among the other states.

"There'll also be upgrades to bases in Edinburgh, WA, Puckapunyal, Townsville and here at Enoggera, so there's also a large infrastructure component. Not one state has won this contract; the nation has won this contract. In years gone by we would have bought these vehicles overseas and imported them into the country."

It appears the superior protection offered by the heavier Boxer won out in the end, with Army sources known to have favoured the German vehicle; currently around 700 units have been ordered by Germany, The Netherlands, Lithuania, and Slovenia.

The AMV35 is certainly lighter, weighing in at 30 tonnes against the Boxer's 38.5 tonnes. Over 1,900 units have been produced in several variants to eight countries. Both contenders had offered the ability to adjust their protection fit-outs up or down to suit the mission.

Some critics have argued a heavier vehicle will adversely affect its ability to perform its primary role of reconaissance, especially when deployed on the rough terrain, poor-quality roads and limited bridges typically found in Australia’s region.

What isn't in doubt is the drastic improvement in capability the new vehicle will offer over its much-loved but long-in-the tooth predecessor, the 16 tonne ASLAV, which suffered a lack of survivability and lethality in the modern context.

Afghanistan experience has taught Army that the new vehicles will have to survive greater blasts from improved shoulder launched weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the likes of which were not envisaged when the ASLAV was first commissioned.

The need to detect and engage the enemy at greater distances has also been a factor in the final selection with both tenders offering a minimum of a 30mm cannon (range up to three kilometres) compared to the ASLAV's 25mm.

The first deliveries of the 211 vehicles are planned to occur by 2020, the first Armoured Cavalry Regiment (ACR) is to be re-equipped by 2022, and Defence hopes to have all three ACRs re-equipped by 2026, although this is a keen estimate.

A Request For Tender for Phase 3 of the Land 400 program, where around 450 Infantry Fighting Vehicles will be acquired to equip three mechanised infantry battalions in the Army combat brigades, is expected later this year.  

The possibility of a selection of an eight-wheeled vehicle, as opposed to a tracked vehicle, for Phase 3 has not been ruled out; this would naturally deliver substantial benefits in terms of cost, industry packages, logistics support and training. Rheinmetall, however, will be keen to offer its Lynx IFV, which will offer similarities, especially in terms of the 30mm LANCE turret.

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