German Bundeswehr Buys 367 Military Trucks

The German Bundeswehr has placed an order worth over €250 million with Rheinmetall for 367 protected and unprotected logistic vehicles.

This order is a further call-off from the frame­work contract for swap-body systems signed in June 2020. In addition to the vehicles, the order includes 1,830 swap-body platforms to serve as interchange­able load carriers. The call-off is worth around €285 million, including value added tax. Delivery of the vehicles is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2023.

In June 2020, the German military procurement agency, BAAINBw, concluded a 7-year framework agreement with Rheinmetall for the purchase of up to 4,000 swap-body vehicles, over 600 of which have been delivered to date. The new swap-body trucks join the successful Unprotected Transport Vehicles, or UTFs, expanding the Bundeswehr’s fleet of vehicles from the military HX family. The swap-body system’s principal item of equipment is the hook-loader. Developed by Hiab, it can lift and set down swap-body platforms in the Bundeswehr inventory in virtually any type of terrain, with no need for additional cargo-handling equipment. As an alternative, the vehicles can carry a swap-body platform or a container via a standardized 20-foot ISO interface.

A large share of the swap-body trucks for the Bundeswehr will feature an armoured cab, substantially enhancing crew survivability and sustainment as well as the tactical flexibility of logistic units and formations. Swap-body trucks are used primarily for supplying combat formations with bulk consumables such as ammunition, fuel and water.