BERLIN - Rheinmetall will modernize 25 more Fuchs/Fox armored transport vehicles for the Bundeswehr, substantially enhancing their level of protection. The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) in Koblenz recently awarded the contract, which is worth EUR36 million.
To date, BAAINBw has contracted with Rheinmetall to upgrade a total of 152 Fuchs/Fox 1 vehicles to the new 1A8 version. By February 2013, 123 of these had been delivered. With the latest order, the total number of Fuchs/Fox 1A8 vehicles in the Bundeswehr inventory is set to rise to 177.
Compared with previous versions of the vehicle, the new 1A8 offers greater protection from landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which continue to pose a widespread threat in Afghanistan. It also offers better protection from ballistic fire. Moreover, the infantry section vehicles are equipped with an unmanned weapon station, giving them a significantly enhanced self-defense capability.
The latest retrofit order will considerably expand the operational spectrum of all the Fuchs/Fox vehicles. Once modernized, they will provide crewmembers with a substantially higher level of protection from a variety of battlefield threats.
The 25 vehicles that form this order come in five configurations, three of which the Bundeswehr is procuring for the first time:
- 7 HRM communication vehicles equipped with high-frequency HRM radio systems. - 5 command and fire control vehicles for indirect fire/joint operations tactical fire support. - 4 combat weather section vehicles for indirect fire/joint operations tactical fire support (weather data collection and analysis). - 6 armored reconnaissance vehicles. - 3 EOD section vehicles.
This increases the number of Fuchs/Fox 1A8 variants in service with the Bundeswehr to 16. The Bundeswehr intends to use the new vehicles in support of deployed operations abroad as well as for special pre-deployment training in Germany.
Delivery of the vehicles will commence in the fourth quarter of 2014, and is scheduled for completion in 2016.
