- Approval and Signing: Following the German Bundestag’s Budget Committee’s nod on March 20, 2024, Rheinmetall bags a contract for 123 Heavy Weapon Carriers.
- Contract Worth €2.7 Billion: Includes comprehensive service and maintenance package, with deliveries starting in 2025.
- Replacement for Wiesel Vehicles: The new carrier to offer advanced direct tactical fire support for infantry units.
- Foundation of “Medium Forces”: A key element in the German Army’s strategy, ensuring rapid deployment and robust national defense.
Düsseldorf, Germany — Rheinmetall, the prominent defense contractor, has been awarded a substantial contract by the German Bundeswehr for the supply of the “Schwerer Waffenträger Infanterie” (Heavy Weapon Carrier for the Infantry).
This follows the approval of the contract by the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag on March 20, 2024. The contract, valued at approximately €2.7 billion, includes not only the procurement of up to 123 vehicles but also encompasses service and maintenance. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2025.
Designed to replace the Wiesel tracked vehicle, the Heavy Weapon Carrier for the Infantry is pivotal in providing direct tactical fire support to infantry units. It signifies a significant step in the enhancement of the German Army’s newly formed “medium forces” category, characterized by their rapid deployment capabilities over long distances, thereby reinforcing national and alliance defense.
The vehicle is based on the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV), a wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle utilized by the Australian Defence Force and also supplied by Rheinmetall. It incorporates an armored reconnaissance mission module with a two-person Lance turret. The primary armament is the Rheinmetall MK30-2 ABM automatic cannon, similar to that installed in the German Puma infantry fighting vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle is equipped with the MELLS (Mehrrollenfähiges Leichtes Lenkflugkörpersystem) multi-role guided missile system, enhancing its anti-tank defense capabilities
Rheinmetall said that comprehensive German-Australian cooperation on this programme was initiated in 2023. In July 2023, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese agreed a corresponding agreement in principle in Berlin on the fringes of a visit to Germany.
A declaration of cooperation had previously been signed in Canberra on 23 March 2023 by the Australian Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy MP, and the German Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Defence, Thomas Hitschler. This lays the foundation for further contractual arrangements between the Australian and German Ministries of Defence and Rheinmetall.