Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle

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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT Oct 2015 CRV SOLUTION PROFILE Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle

Transcript of Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle

Page 1: Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle

S P E C I A L S U P P L E M E N T

Oct 2015

CRV SOLUTION PROFILE

Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle

Page 2: Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle

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CONTENTS

www.boxercrv.com.au

The battle proven BOXER 8X8 CRV, LANCE turret

and C4ISR solution for the Australian Army’s

LAND 400 program.

BOXER is combat proven and ready for delivery.

This means a low risk solution for the Australian Army

and low costs through the life of the vehicle.

BOXER CRVA future solutionavailable today

OCT 2015

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTRheinmetall Land 400 Bid 3Boxer CRV Profile 4From the Bid Team 8

THIS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT PUBLISHED BY SABOT MEDIA PTY LTD

Editor: Ian Bostock [email protected]@dtrmagazine.com

[email protected]@dtrmagazine.com

Tel: + 61 419 204 835

The MOTS/MOTS Plus offer PROJECT LAND 400 Phase 2 will deliver up to 225 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) to the Australian Army and provide a significant enhancement to the Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability.

Rheinmetall offers a military off the shelf (MOTS) vehicle for Land 400 – the Boxer CRV – that delivers protection for Australian troops like no other 8x8 in its class. The Boxer CRV is designed to perform at the very high levels of protection demanded by Land 400 Phase 2 and is perfectly aligned with the Consolidated Operational Needs priorities where protection is king.

Rheinmetall’s MOTS Plus offering will comprise the Boxer fitted with the in-service Lance two-man 30mm turret.

No other CRV is designed to operate at the protection levels offered by the combat-proven Boxer. Unlike competitor vehicles, the Boxer CRV balances the key military requirements of protection, mobility and firepower in an unrivalled combination that can be rapidly transitioned into service and easily supported through-life.

The key features of the Rheinmetall Land 400 bid include:Unparalleled Survivability: Boxer CRV can survive against the full spectrum of battlefield threats including small arms, heavy machine guns, kinetic threats, mines, NBC contaminants and improvised explosive devices (IED) using its unique modular and upgradeable survivability system.Commitment to Australian Industry Capability: Rheinmetall has an enduring commitment to creating and sustaining jobs in Australia. This will see Australian small-to-medium sized enterprises provided with access to long-term export opportunities within the company’s global supply chain. Low Risk: Rheinmetall is uniquely positioned to provide the complete, fully integrated Boxer CRV mission system – vehicle, turret, integrated logistic support, simulation and ammunition – from one supplier, including access to intellectual property.Value for Money: The Boxer CRV offering to the Australian Army will keep costs competitive, while Rheinmetall engineering eclipses all other options when it comes to sustainable through-life support.

RHEINMETALL LAND 400 BID

RIGHT: A Boxer 8x8 of the German Army operating in Afghanistan. Image: Bundeswehr

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CRV SOLUTION PROFILE CRV SOLUTION PROFILE

The vehicle can accept a variety of external armour packages depending on the required protection level, including ceramic appliqué and Rheinmetall’s Active Defence System.

In addition to class-leading protection against heavy machine guns, medium-calibre cannon and artillery fragments, Boxer CRV is protected against all types of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, IEDs and nuclear, chemical and biological threats.

As proposed for Phase 2 of Land 400, it is understood that the Boxer CRV meets and exceeds the project’s very demanding protection requirements for kinetic threats over the frontal arc and mine/IED blast under the wheels and centreline of the vehicle.

The location of flammable liquids also adds to Boxer CRV’s overall survivability. For instance, there is no fuel or hydraulic oil inside the vehicle: the fuel tanks are contained in the rear of the drive module and the actuator for the rear ramp is positioned outside the mission module.

The drop-in mission modules, 10 of which have been developed and qualified including that for the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) variant, are secured to the drive module by just four M32 bolts, with the associated hoses and electrical connections. This enables

Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle

THE BOXER COMBAT RECONNAISSANCE VEHICLE (CRV) proposed by Rheinmetall to meet the Australian Army’s Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability requirement under Phase 2 of Land 400 is the effective integration of two military-off-the-shelf systems: the Boxer 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle and the Lance two-man 30mm turret.

Considered by many to be the ‘gold standard’ in 8x8 armoured fighting vehicles (AFV), Boxer’s design origins speak volumes about its compatibility with the two Land 400 Phase 2 capability priorities of protection and mobility.

From the outset, Boxer was designed to have class-leading protection and crew survivability as standard, and it was designed to be highly mobile at these high protection levels. Out of the box, without modification or upgrade.

The addition of the Lance turret addresses the third priority of lethality, the world’s most advanced medium-calibre cannon turret providing an ideal blend of firepower, range, rate-of-fire (ROF), stowed kills and programmable 30mm ammunition natures.

The high protection philosophy at the heart of Boxer’s design is aligned with coalition combat experience over the last 15 years, during which inadequately protected armoured vehicles were quickly relegated to non-deployable status. The lesson was clear: improve protection against more powerful kinetic threats, explosively formed projectiles, mines and IEDs to maintain operational relevance and enhance crew/occupant survivability.

The Boxer baseline vehicle has been proven and qualified by easily the most exhaustive design and development program the armoured vehicle industry has ever seen, with 12 prototypes

modules to be swapped out in theatre within 30 minutes.With the drive module common across all variants, the mission

module concept also allows for ‘pooling’ of module versions to provide flexibility in procurement and deployment. As with Dutch and German army Boxers, all seven variants of the Boxer CRV family would share an identical drive module.

In May 2012, Rheinmetall completed trials of the Boxer IFV variant at its test centre in Unterluss, demonstrating the successful integration of the Lance turret with a modified mission module.

EXTREME MOBILITY

In keeping with the original brief that the vehicle must be able to follow a Leopard 2 main battle tank cross-country, Boxer’s tactical mobility requirements have been qualified at the maximum combat weight and under the most extreme environmental conditions. Mobility trials included testing in various locations in Europe, the Middle East and German Army-sponsored hot/dry trials in Australia in 2010 where the top recorded temperature was 56° Celsius.

At the core of the Boxer CRV’s high mobility is the MTU 8V199 TE20 720hp (536kW) V8 multi-fuel engine coupled to a 7-speed Allison HD4070 automatic transmission. Large power reserves accommodate future vehicle growth and provide motive power for the combat laden vehicle across any terrain without taxing the engine, thereby delivering lower through-life support and maintenance costs. The powerpack can be changed out in the field in less than 30 minutes.

The powertrain is joined by a driveline that features independent suspension for all wheels, permanent 8x8 drive with in nine different variants put through extensive reliability

and durability trials. Trials vehicles accumulated more than 190,000km of test driving, spread over 4,700 trial days.

The Boxer development program met some 1,600 separate technical, engineering, performance and capability requirements.

PROTECTION CONCEPTThe Boxer CRV features a multi-layer pretection concept and survivability cell that provides a unique overmatch capability to mimimise the ‘catastrophic kill’ risk from mine blasts and IEDs. The mission module survivability cell has a triple floor and angled sides to deflect blast, sitting like a hammock in the drive module and effectively decoupling it from the blast. The double-skinned drive module also absorbs critical blast deformation.

This underlying design philosophy ensures the Boxer CRV has multi-hit capability and sufficient residual mobility following an attack.

Even the engine, which is situated in an L-shape in front of the driving compartment, adds another layer of protection to crew and occupants against over-penetrating projectiles.

The vehicle’s external profile and design also assists in increasing survivability, taking advantage of stealth design techniques and generation of low acoustic, infrared and radar signatures. An example of this is the extra effort that was made to ensure that hot components such as the engine were thermally isolated through the use of decoupled and actively cooled plates on the front of the vehicle and the careful consideration of engine cooling and exhaust efflux towards the ground.

LEFT: The German Army first deployed Boxer to Afghanistan in July 2011 and continued operating more than 30 vehicles into 2013. Image: Bundeswehr

BOXER CRV CAPABILITY SNAPSHOT

UNRIVALLED PROTECTION EXTREME MOBILITY IN SERVICE & PROVEN FULLY INTEGRATED

World’s best protected 8x8 armoured vehicle

Engineered for high mobility in all terrain

MOTS, combat proven and in production

Hull and turret fully integrated, qualified

Meets all Land 400 protection requirements

Optimised powertrain, driveline, suspension & handling

Serving with three NATO armiesOpen digital electronic

architecture

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four axle differentials and two inter-axle differentials, central tyre inflation system for the 27-inch Michelin X-Force XML run-flat tyres, anti-skid braking and steering mechanisms located above the wheels in protected positions.

Maximum speed of the Boxer CRV is 103km/h, complemented by a 1,050km road range for outstanding endurance, operational mobility and self-deployability.

LANCE TURRETIn service with the Spanish Marine Corps since 2011, the Rheinmetall Lance turret is a state-of-the-art system that can be fitted to almost any wheeled or tracked AFV.

To align with the reconnaissance role and end user community familiarity, the Lance turret on Boxer CRV is of two-man configuration to provide maximum situational awareness, observation, vehicle control and flexibility.

With its modular design, Lance can also be configured for unmanned, remotely-controlled operation to reduce weight and free-up internal hull volume.

Armed with the Mauser/Rheinmetall MK30-2/ABM (Air Burst Munition) dual-feed automatic 30mm cannon and 7.62mm co-axial machine gun supported by advanced sensors and sighting systems, the Lance turret enables targets to be engaged with precision out to 3,000m and has true hunter-killer capability. The MK30-2 is a well-proven, highly versatile weapon and in various configurations is used in both ground and air defence roles.

The Lance turret has 200 ready-use rounds of 30x173mm ammunition in two natures available at the gun, with additional quantities of ammunition stowed in the vehicle. A unique feature of the Lance turret is its compartmentalised ammunition, which is stored outside of the crew compartment thus substantially increasing survivability.

Contributing to the reduced technical and integration risk profile of the Boxer CRV bid, Rheinmetall has ownership of the majority of high technology sub-systems which comprise the

www.boxercrv.com.au

The battle proven BOXER 8X8 CRV, LANCE turret

and C4ISR solution for the Australian Army’s LAND 400 program.

BOXER provides Australian soldiers

with the highest protection levels of any

8x8 on the planet.

BOXER CRVFight. Win. Survive.

CRV SOLUTION PROFILE CRV SOLUTION PROFILE

Lance turret, including motion electronics, stabilisation systems, electro-optics, sights, sensors and fire control system, as well as all the associated hardware and software architecture and interfaces. No third parties are required.

This would enable Rheinmetall to offer the Lance turret into future phases of Land 400, therefore assuring commonality between Phase 2 and Phase 3 vehicles. The modular build approach of the turret lends itself to this approach and would address customer concerns about turret commonality across the Land 400 fleet.

This elevates the Boxer CRV to a position where it is the only solution for Phase 2 of Land 400 that is able to be supplied and supported by the one original equipment manufacturer.

• Boxer development and trials program is documented by more than 3,000 pages of test reports and certification reports.

• The Dutch and German armies ordered a first batch of 472 Boxers in nine variants, with series production commencing in 2009.

• Delivery of the 300th Boxer took place on 19 June 2015. • Active production of Boxer for Germany and the Netherlands continues.• A follow-on contract for a second batch of 131 Boxer vehicles in the A2

configuration for Germany is anticipated soon, with delivery scheduled in the 2017-2020 timeframe.

• Upgrade of German Army Boxers to the A2 configuration is also planned.

SPECIFICATIONS – BOXER CRV

Length/Width 7.93m/2.99m

Height (turret roof) 3.24m

Ground Clearance 500mm

Maximum Speed/Range 103kmh/1,050km

Gradient/Side Slope 60%/30%

Vertical Step/Trench Crossing 800mm/2m

Turning Circle 15m

Protected Internal Volume 16m³

Crew 3 plus 6 dismounts

Main Armament MK30-2/ABM, 30mm

FAST FACTS

LEFT: The Rheinmetall Boxer CRV package is the only Phase 2 Land 400 candidate solution available from a single OEM. Image: Rheinmetall

BELOW LEFT: The Lance two-man turret is equipped with a state-of-the-art, fully digital fire control system, two electro-optical sights – each equipped with a high-resolution camera, thermal imaging camera and laser rangefinder – and a stabilised 360° panoramic vision system. Image: Spanish MoD

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Rheinmetall’s bid team lead, Ben Hudson, provides his perspective on what makes the Boxer CRV such a strong candidate for Phase 2 of Land 400.

What differentiates Rheinmetall’s offer for Land 400?We offer a low risk, off-the-shelf vehicle and turret with a very high level of compliance to the key requirements, particularly regarding survivability. Both vehicle and turret are in service right now and fully qualified as an integrated capability package.

Boxer was developed with the levels of protection sought by the Commonwealth, it has been fully qualified for the German and Dutch Armies and seen active service in Afghanistan. When you combine Boxer’s class-leading protection with the most modern manned medium calibre turret in service today, exceptionally high levels of mobility and a 5th generation C4ISR system, the Boxer CRV will allow our soldiers to fight, win and most importantly survive on the battlefield like no other vehicle.

Why is Boxer’s survivability so high?Boxer was designed from the outset for the full spectrum battlefield – it doesn’t need upgrades or add-ons to meet the Land 400 requirements. Boxer has many unique survivability features such as the decoupled survivability cell and the triple redundant mine protection system. To give you an idea of the engineering that went into Boxer during its development I would like to mention one of the lesser known aspects.

Conventional 8x8 vehicles have an in-line engine-transmission configuration that places the driver next to the engine. Boxer doesn’t follow this approach; the engine is mounted at 90˚ to the transmission in an L-shape and the driver and crew sit behind the engine, which is more than 1,000kg of steel. Even if the armour on the front of the vehicle is penetrated the crew has a high probability of survival due to the additional protection the engine provides. The engine is essentially part of the armour package.

Can you comment on the other highlights of your Land 400 proposal?Yes, of course. If you think about the philosophy of giving soldiers a system that allows them to fight, survive and win, then after survivability you quickly arrive at lethality, mobility and C4ISR.

The Boxer CRV features the mature Lance turret that can engage the complete spectrum of threats through the application

www.boxercrv.com.au

The battle proven BOXER 8X8 CRV, LANCE turret

and C4ISR solution for the Australian Army’s LAND 400 program.

Designed from the ground up to deliver

the best protection of any 8x8 in the world,

without compromising mobility or lethality.

BOXER CRVIntegrated capability

From the Bid Team of scalable non-lethal and lethal effects. Lance is also uniquely aware of its environment through its multi-spectral situational awareness system that automatically detects threats for the crew, substantially decreasing workload and engagement times.

Boxer was designed to operate alongside combat vehicles of the German Army, including Leopard 2; it has the most powerful engine of any 8x8, a 1,000km road range, a unique suspension system and a custom designed tyre with a central tyre inflation system that enhances mobility in soft soil conditions. Boxer is virtually unstoppable off-road.

Rheinmetall and our partners, Northrop Grumman and Supacat, will integrate the mandated C4ISR system and also demonstrate an open architecture 5th generation C4ISR system that seamlessly integrates Boxer CRV within joint and coalition environments. With the Lance sensor suite and this 5th generation C4ISR system, Boxer CRV will be akin to a land-based F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and deliver the outcomes sought by Defence under Plan Jericho.

Boxer CRV is also as survivable, mobile and lethal as any

conventional IFV, wheeled or tracked. If selected for Phase 2 then additional troop seats can be added to the vehicle in under an hour that allow Boxer CRV to lift an infantry section, thus transforming it into the most capable wheeled IFV available today.

Using Boxer CRV as an interim IFV would allow Army to operate in the Plan Beersheba construct on active operations years before Land 400 Phase 3 delivers IFVs.

What is Rheinmetall proposing for Australian Industry Capability (AIC)?I think we will surprise a few people here as we are offering a very significant AIC package.

What I can say now is that Rheinmetall has been open about the further internationalisation of our business and we see Land 400 as a unique opportunity for the company to significantly expand our presence in the region.

The result will be a very favourable outcome for Australia, leading to the creation of sustainable high technology jobs that will benefit not only Defence but the wider Australian economy.

Ben Hudson is the President of the Combat Platforms Business Unit and CEO of Rheinmetall Land Systeme GmbH. Ben is responsible for leading the tracked vehicle, turret, counter-IED and airport equipment business of Rheinmetall, including key projects such as the production of the Puma IFV.

Prior to joining Rheinmetall Ben held senior roles with General Dynamics, BAE Systems and was an officer in the Australian Army, his service including deployment to East Timor and tenure in DMO on projects including ASLAV, Bushranger and Land 121.

BOXER CRV IS AS SURVIVABLE, MOBILE AND LETHAL AS ANY CONVENTIONAL IFV