As a major seller in the international arms market, Germany has always been a leader in the research and development of military weapons. The "Leopard 2" tank, the "Weasel" armored vehicle, and the PzH2000 self-propelled gun produced in the country have been listed as standard weapons by many national armies and reused.
Today we want to introduce this chariot, which is also one of the more famous among Germany's many weapons. The modular design and technological armament make it stand out among the wheeled armored vehicles, which is the German "Boxer Dog" armored vehicle, an armored vehicle that is widely acclaimed in European countries.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > product of joint manufacturing</h1>
In February 1996, the German military leadership faced the shortage of wheeled armored vehicles in the country and decided to produce a new type of armored vehicle. Two years later, Britain, France and Germany jointly decided to jointly carry out research and development programs, which is also a best representative of NATO and EU integration. The three countries' well-known arms manufacturers Vickers, Klaus-Marffei Wiggmann, Rheinmetall and the French company GIAT jointly formed the Armored Technology Company (ARTEC GmbH) to participate in the development.
But the good times did not last long, the French side withdrew from the joint program in 1999 due to political pressure, and then the Dutch stoke company joined to form a new armored technology company. According to the original plan, in 2004, the three countries will conduct performance tests on the prototype, and the first batch of tanks was officially developed in 2007, and the three countries will be divided into 200 vehicles.
According to the demand, the British armored vehicles will replace the CVR, "Saxon" and FV-430 models, the original German M113, Fuchs Tpz 1 will also be abandoned, and the German army will also use these new armored vehicles to create its own rapid reaction force in the future. The Netherlands, which was supposed to purchase more than 300 vehicles, eventually set the order for 200 units, and the rest was used to purchase CV-90 armored vehicles from Sweden, another arms exporter.
Compared to wheeled armored vehicles made in other countries, this new armored vehicle is a rare heavy armored vehicle - its combat type weighs 36.5 tons, even heavier than many traditional tracked infantry fighting vehicles; but even so, the German army's own transport aircraft can easily transport one. In December 2002, the new armored vehicle was officially named the "Fist Lion Dog", and its prototype was a large fighting dog that swept Europe. With a strong sense of aggression and dedication, the purpose of giving the new armored vehicle such a name is self-evident.
The first prototype of the "Boxer" was officially shipped out of the factory in December 2002 and handed over to the German army, and the first prototype of the British army was successfully shipped the following year. Originally, it was planned that the British, German and Dutch countries would jointly manufacture the remaining number of "Boxers", but due to the british military's high-level decision to use new armored vehicles that are light in weight and conducive to long-range airdrops in the future, they were finally officially withdrawn in July 2003. Since then, Germany has become the main force in the manufacture and development of the "Boxer", and the two major military enterprises in Germany, Klaus-Marffei Weigemann and Rheinmetall, have taken over the battlefield, rescue and command models; the Dutch stoke company is responsible for many models of the Dutch army.
German "Boxer Dog" deployed in Afghanistan
In June 2006, the Netherlands officially approved the purchase of 200 different types of "Boxer Dog" armored vehicles (Dutch: Pantser Wiel Voertuig, PWV), including command, battlefield rescue and transport. In 2016, the Dutch "Boxer" was all accepted; the German side also began to purchase the first "Boxer" from December 2006 to replace the old M113 armored vehicle and the "Fox" armored vehicle. In the future, the German army will also be equipped with more than 600 different types of "Boxer Dog" armored vehicles.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, modular new vehicles</h1>
Compared with other fixed type of wheeled armored vehicles, the biggest feature of the "Boxer" is that the overall body adopts an integrated modular design. The entire body is a combination of a chassis plus a task module integrated into the rear of the car, and a cockpit. In addition to the use of the chassis to power it, the module group can be self-exchanged, independent of the overall operation of the car body; each module has a separate central processing unit, and when you want to change the module, you only need to enter the data on the spot. Under field conditions, it only takes one hour to complete the transformation of module groups, and various models only need to change different module segments.
The module compartment that was removed
For example, the previous 12 armored vehicles can only undertake the task, and now the "Boxer Dog" only needs 6 to 8 chassis and 5 different mission modules to do it. This convenient approach not only reduces the logistical pressure on the front line, but also simplifies the process of the production line, significantly reduces the cost of logistical maintenance, and facilitates the rapid replacement of damaged modules and the expansion of functions in the field.
"Boxer dog" in the cabin of the hoisting module
The only drawback is that the module group does not have the effect of supporting the body of the car, resulting in the common chassis of the "Boxer Dog" itself needs to increase the structural strength to withstand these modules, resulting in the weight of the armored vehicle being much heavier than that of the general vehicle. At present, the mission modules that have been launched include combat command, battlefield rescue, logistics transportation, armored troop transport, etc., and there will be modules such as medium-caliber artillery and infantry fighting vehicles in the future.
In terms of protection, the "Boxer Dog" is made of high-hardness steel plates, with composite armor and modular armor throughout the body; its top is equipped with ceramic armor plates to deal with the attack of the top ammunition, which can withstand the attack of heavy machine guns of up to 14.5mm. Composite armor is bolted to the hull and can be replaced on the battlefield at any time. The chassis of the vehicle has a multi-layer clearance armor, which can effectively absorb the impact of mine detonation.
In terms of internal structure, the seats of the "Fist Lion Dog" vehicle are suspended, which can effectively avoid secondary damage to the personnel in the car by IED and mines; in order to reduce the probability of being discovered by the enemy, the appearance of the car is designed to be very simple and flat and designed everywhere to reduce the radar reflection area; in addition, the radar and noise of the car are reduced to the minimum.
In terms of power, the "Boxer" adopts an MTU8V 199TE20 diesel engine, which makes it have 720 horsepower power, the fastest driving speed on the road is 103 kilometers per hour, and the endurance is as high as 1050 kilometers. Equipped with an advanced omnidirectional independent suspension system, different suspension systems and walking devices can be selected; in terms of main weapons, the body uses KlausMaffei-Weggmann's FLW-200 unmanned remote control weapon station, ranging from 30mm cannons to 7.62 and 12.7mm machine guns.
FLW-200 Remote Control Weapons Station
The Dutch and British versions of the "Boxer" also come with a battlefield ambulance module, which can be equipped with three stretchers or six professional seats for the treatment of minor injuries. The vehicle can quickly help the lightly wounded and sick to transfer in actual combat, and for some soldiers can also be medium-sized surgery and treatment.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, overseas orders continue</h1>
Since its official entry into the German Army, 403 armored vehicles of various versions of the "Fist and Lion Dog" have been in service in the German army, including 125 armored personnel carriers, 72 medical ambulances, 65 field command vehicles and 10 coach vehicles. In addition, the Royal Dutch Army is also equipped with 200 different modular groups of "boxers", most of which are field maintenance vehicles and battlefield ambulances. (Pictured below)
In December 2017, the Lithuanian Army on the Baltic Coast began receiving 91 different modular groups of "Boxer Dog" armored vehicles, which the Lithuanian Army called "Wolf" armored vehicles (Lithuanian: IFV "Vilkas"). The vehicle will be fully delivered by the end of 2021 and will be the main armored fighting vehicle of the country's army.
The Lithuanian Army's "Fist Lion Dog"
In March 2018, the Australian government announced that the "Boxer Dog" armored vehicle won the championship of the Australian Army's new armored vehicle program. The former will procure 211 different modules of the "Boxer Dog" to replace the light armored vehicles originally in service, with a total value of about $5 billion. In July 2020, the first batch of "Boxers" was officially added to the country's Army, and the manufacturer Rheinmetall will also set up a special factory in Queensland to produce the remaining armored vehicles, which are expected to be fully deployed in 2024.
A group photo of Australian soldiers with the "Fist Lion Dog"
If you add the Slovenian Army and the British Army, which has just placed an order, the "Boxer" has now won 6 countries and more than 1500 super orders. It can be seen how popular this new armored vehicle combining firepower and modularity is in the armies of European countries. According to the latest news, the Algerian Army in North Africa also determined plans to purchase the armored vehicle in early 2020, and it is expected that the country's army will also be equipped with about 500 different modular groups of "Boxers" by 2023.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
The birth of this new armored vehicle of the German army fundamentally subverted people's inherent impression of wheeled armored vehicles. Highlighting the multi-functional and modular characteristics of the combat vehicle in future wars, its rapid mobility and battlefield layout capabilities also allow the country equipped with this armored vehicle to play its due combat strength in future operations and in timely and accurate front-line battles.
Resources
1. The German Army after World War II
2. German Army Equipment 2020
3. Encyclopedia of World Armored Vehicles
4. Jane's Defence Weekly: Armored Vehicles