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The Australian Army is one step closer to having world-class combat reconnaissance capability, Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds has said after the commencement of Boxer 8x8 CRV training.
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The Australian Army has commenced training on the new Boxer 8x8 combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRV), built by Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA), which will soon replace the Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAV)
Defence has thus far accepted delivery of five of the 211 Boxer vehicles, with an additional vehicle expected by the end this week.
Rheinmetall is expected to build a majority of the vehicles at the company's specialised Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) in Queensland, with the first 25 vehicles to be built in Germany as part of the technology transfer process.
Currently, more than a dozen BOXER vehicles are either in production at the MILVEHCOE.
According to Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds, the new Boxer 8x8 CRVs, delivered as part of the federal government’s $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 program, brings the Army a step closer to having world-class combat reconnaissance capability.
“These vehicles will provide our soldiers with increased protection, lethality, connectivity and mobility for the next 30 years,” Minister Reynolds said.
“Defence has continued recruiting and training personnel under COVID-safe conditions to meet our force generation requirements to continue defending the nation and its interests.”
The government noted that the training exercises have been run in a “COVID safe manner”, with Defence and Rheinmetall Defence Australia working closely to implement the necessary changes.
The $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 program will have Rheinmetall deliver 211 8x8 Boxer CRVs to the Australian Army. Under the company's offering to the Commonwealth, Rheinmetall will build a majority of the vehicles at the MILVEHCOE in Queensland.
The first 25 vehicles will be built in Germany as part of the technology transfer process, with the remaining vehicles to be built in Australia. Boxer will replace the ageing ASLAVs that have served with the Australian Army in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Army will accept 133 reconnaissance variants of the Boxer, which will be equipped with Rheinmetall’s cutting-edge Lance 30mm automatic cannon turret system, amounts a number of other variants.
Joint venture partners, Varley Rafael will supply the Spike LR2 Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) system for the Boxer CRV. The Spike LR2 is a fifth-generation ATGM system, originally developed as a fire-and-forget system.
The vehicle-mounted extended-range variant has a range of 8m, while the non-line-of-sight variant can hit targets up to 25 kilometres away.
The Boxer CRV will support Australian industry, sourcing specialised armoured steel from Australian steel companies BlueScope Steel and Bisalloy, with engineering support provided by Melbourne-based Supacat Asia-Pacific.
[Related: Army’s Boxer CRV program, facility progresses in leaps and bounds ]
