Image source: topwar.ru
The Dutch Army has discovered a manufacturing defect in a significant part of the Boxer wheeled armored vehicle fleet. Dozens of pieces of equipment were temporarily decommissioned until the problem was fixed.
Currently, the Netherlands has 200 Boxer–92 wheeled armored vehicles for engineering units, 52 medical evacuation vehicles, 36 command and control vehicles, 12 cargo vehicles and 8 training vehicles. In mid-February, the Ministry of Defense reported that 70 of them had a manufacturing defect in the form of excessively tightened screws in the suspension.
According to the military department, this flaw could be caused by the use of an unsuitable tool in the manufacture of equipment.:
In this regard, the Ministry of Defense decided to suspend the operation of the Boxer with the detected defect and send them to local workshops for repair. The work is expected to last several weeks.
Currently, the Netherlands is planning to increase its Boxer fleet by several dozen more units. These include 10 machines designed for electronic warfare, and 72 copies in the BMP variant equipped with the RCT30 turret system. They are planned to be deployed to 2 of the 3 infantry battalions from the 13th Light Brigade, which will be a significant leap in strengthening the combat potential of the compound compared to the previously used Boxer, armed with machine guns.
Image source: topwar.ru
Boxer infantry fighting vehicle with RCT30 turret system
The Bundeswehr is also going to purchase 148 Boxer units equipped with the aforementioned turret (the so-called "grenadier version"). In addition, Ukraine will receive 9 vehicles equipped with an identical turret, but these vehicles will serve as a "mobile fire control center" for the RCH 155 wheeled self-propelled guns.
Boxer is a German–Dutch 8x8 armored vehicle developed and manufactured by the ARTEC GmbH consortium, which includes KMW and Rheinmetall concerns. The main armament in the APC variant is a 40 mm GMG grenade launcher, a 12.7mm or 7.62mm machine gun, placed in a remotely controlled combat module or on a rotary turret. In the BMP or BRDM variant, the main armament is located in the Lance turret system and can be represented by a 30- or 35-mm automatic cannon.
