£30 Million Contract for c. 250 Powerpacks Over 10 Years

The ‘cascade effect’ of the UK’s £2.3 billion (€2.65 billion) commitment to building the BOXER armoured vehicle in the for the Army’s Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) programme continues to make its presence felt. On 4 May WFEL and parent company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) announced an agreement for Huddersfield-based David Brown Santasalo (DBS) to assemble powerpacks for the programme.

The £30 million contract covers assembly of some 250 powerpack blocks (transmission, engine and cooling systems), for delivery commencing in August 2022 over a 10-year period. Part of KMW’s extensive UK Boxer Technology Transfer Programme, the order will ensure a steady supply of fully assembled and tested powerpack units to WFEL, which will integrate them into BOXERs.

The BOXER vehicles are being provided to the UK MoD as part of the £2.3bn contract placed with the ARTEC consortium in November 2019. The programme aims to ensure that 60% of the contract value is sourced from within the UK.

Ian Anderton, WFEL Managing Director, welcomed DBS to the UK supply chain, adding it is “a company which has undergone rigorous supplier selection criteria, as part of our wider programme of manufacturing readiness for this vital new capability for the British Army’s Strike Brigade.”