Total of 186 Vehicles to be Delivered
The second batch of Australian Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) has entered production at Rheinmetall’s Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) in Ipswich, Queensland on 20 March, with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk participating as the ‘striking of the arc’ (performing the first weld) was initiated. +Partner companies attending included Bisalloy, Intellidesign and Marand, emphasising Rheinmetall’s commitment to supporting a regional industrial base.
“This is a very proud day for Queensland’s defence manufacturing capabilities, as our association with Rheinmetall on the $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 project delivers locally built Boxer CRVs […] Through the delivery of LAND 400 Phase 2 and its other projects, our partnership has already created 600 jobs at the Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence, which will be contributing more than $1 billion to the Queensland’s economy in its first 10 years of operation […] The facility is now the most advanced military vehicle manufacturing facility in Australia […] Our partnership’s continuing success provides long-term certainty to the current workforce, and greater opportunities through the entire supply chain which impacts many SMEs right across Queensland,” Palaszczuk stated.
This vehicle will be the first to enter the production line, alongside early vehicles from Germany currently being assembled at the site. In recognising the milestone, Nathan Poyner, Managing Director of Rheinmetall Defence Australia, commented “Rheinmetall has delivered a first batch of 25 Boxer CRVs to Australia. These initial Boxers were built in Germany, and finalised at MILVEHCOE, joining the more than 2,900 HX Trucks that were finalised and are today sustained from the facility […] This striking of the arc event represents the first of 186 Boxer CRVs that will be built at MILVEHCOE, providing jobs, training and new opportunities for Australians working at Rheinmetall and in the more than 200 Australian Industry Partners across the nation […] Rheinmetall has taken a long-term partnership approach to working in Australia […] We have an operational facility, the staff in place, our partnerships in place and as part of the capability to build a complete modern armoured vehicle, we have established real sovereign capabilities, including armour production and electronics manufacturing for the Australian Defence Force; all of which happens right here in Queensland”.
