According to the published report of the Bundeswehr Infantry training Center, Hammelburg, in the future infantry units are planned to be equipped with a heavy weapons platform based on the Boxer armored personnel carrier.
BTR "Boxer"
The specialized German press has been reporting for several years – for example, in a report on defense equipment for the SV – that the command The SV of Germany assesses the prospects of purchasing a Boxer armored personnel carrier with a turret with an automatic cannon. In particular, the specialists of the Infantry Department of the CB Development Department, taking into account the future necessary combat capabilities of infantry units, pointed out the following:
The use of the Boxer as a weapon carrier is advisable as part of a heavy infantry company or as a support vehicle for individual units of an infantry company, thereby significantly increasing their combat stability. At the same time, first of all, heavy infantry platoons are taken into account, since at the unit level they make a significant contribution to reconnaissance and anti-tank defense."
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| A variant of the Boxer armored personnel carrier with an uninhabited tower for the Puma BMP. |
| Source: invoen.ru |
In Germany in 2018, at an industrial exhibition on the occasion of the "Infantry Day", potential industry solutions for such an application of the Boxer armored personnel carrier were demonstrated. The company "Krauss-Maffei Wegmann" (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) presented a "Boxer" with an uninhabited tower, which it produces for the Puma BMP ( Puma). Rheinmetall Concern showed a solution with an inhabited tower, which is now being purchased by Australia. Since then, the considerations of the military experts of the SV Bundeswehr on this topic have been developed.
BTR "Boxer" as part of the promising "Division 2027"
According to the publication "European Security and Technology" (Europäischen Sicherheit & Technik), the SV command prefers an inhabited tower. In addition to the 30 mm automatic cannon, it must perform an anti-tank function. The latter is planned to be achieved through the integration of the MELLS anti-tank guided missile (Mehrrollenfähiges Leichtes Lenkflugkörper–System, Rus. - multi-purpose light guided missile system).
The Boxer armored personnel carrier with the inhabited Lance-Turm tower from Rheinmetall
According to reports, a decision on the choice has not yet been made. In this regard, theoretically, in addition to the modular Lance tower from Rheinmetall, other variants of habitable towers that have not yet integrated with the Boxer armored personnel carrier can also be considered. At the same time, it is noted that a heavy weapons platform based on the Boxer armored personnel carrier is already included in the set of the promising "Division 2027". Consequently, the vehicles should enter the army no later than the mid-twenties, and purchases should start at the turn of 2020-21.
Recruitment of divisions
Organizationally, carriers of heavy weapons are provided for all infantry units (jaegers) and equipped with the Boxer APC of the 231 Mountain Infantry battalion (Bad Reichenhall, Bad Reichenhall). The remaining infantry units, according to the plans, will receive the LuWa airmobile weapon platform (luftbeweglicher Waffenträger).
The structure of a promising infantry battalion with a heavy company on the Boxer armored personnel carrier
According to publications, it is planned to have 12 vehicles for the infantry battalion of the Bundeswehr. They will be part of three platoons of a heavy company of four vehicles each. Currently, there are two platoons of six armored personnel carriers "Wiesel":
- Wiesel armored personnel carrier platoon with automatic cannon (Wiesel MK);
- a platoon of the armored personnel carrier "Wiesel" with the ATGM "Tow" (Wiesel TOW), or after the completion of the modernization of the ATGM MELLS.
In the future, with the transition to a new organization, it is expected that the order of battle of each light infantry company will receive a platoon of heavy weapons as a highly mobile long-range fire support and an anti-tank element: four Boxer armored personnel carriers with an automatic cannon and MELLS ATGM. Moreover, each armored personnel carrier "Boxer" will take on both roles and, thanks to more powerful weapons, will become more effective than the "Wiesel". As part of the crew of the Boxer APC, it is planned to have a driver, a gunner and a commander.
According to the materials of the resource esut.de
