Production History
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 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 is undergoing 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.
The Netherlands requires around 400 Boxers, to replace the M577 and the support variants of the YPR-765 in the Royal Netherlands Army, with the Netherlands having already confirmed the procurement of 200 vehicles in autumn of 2006. The fighting versions of the YPR-765 will be replaced by the CV90 IFV.
On December 13, 2006 the German parliament approved the procurement of 272 Boxers for the German Army, to replace shares of its M113 and Fuchs TPz 1 vehicles. When the high numbers of Fuchs´ become obsolete by 2020, more Boxers are likely to follow.
So far, about 600 Boxers are planned for the German Army. On September 23, 2009, the first Boxer was officially handed over to the German Federal Office of Defence, Technology and Procurement (BWB).
In June 2007, the Boxer was being considered for the British FRES programme.
In spring 2011 first German production vehicles with FLW200 remote weapon stations (equipped with M2QCB machine guns and H&K 40mm GMGs) were handed over to Infantry Battalion 292 and Mountain Infantry Battalion 231 for training and deployment to Afghanistan in the second half of 2011.
Read more about this topic: Boxer (armoured Fighting Vehicle)
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