Lithuanian Army To Get 88 Boxer Vehicles

ARTEC, a joint venture between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall, has won a $440 million contract to supply 88 high-protection Boxer Vehicles to the Lithuanian army in 2017.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence and European Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation have jointly commissioned ARTEC GmbH to deliver the vehicles with medium-calibre weaponry in a remote-controlled turret, the company announced Monday.  

As a result, the Boxer family is now extended by the Infantry Fighting Vehicle variant. Production will be carried out by ARTEC's two parent companies. KMW will be manufacturing 53 vehicles and 35 by Rheinmetall.

The German Armed Forces have more than 400 BOXER vehicles in different variants in use or in the procurement process, and the Dutch Armed Forces have 200.

Together with the Lithuanian vehicles, just short of 700 vehicles therefore have been contracted by three user nations. The Boxer offers its crews maximum protection from mines, IEDs and direct fire, and is characterized by high mobility, both on roads and in the roughest terrain.

With this contract, Lithuania will become the third nation to operate the Boxer.