I've become more and more interested in the Canadian competitions for a Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) and Close Combat Vehicle (CCV).
I plan on trying to cover each and every contender for both programs and today's entry is from Rheinmetall Canada. The Boxer IFV. They've changed the profile for the Boxer for this competition. Instead of stressing simply stressing its modularity they've added the Lancer Turret and made this a formidable war machine with scalable armor.
The "but" in all this is the comparison of the Boxer IFV with the LAV-3 currently in service with Canadian Forces. This statement from CASR says it all...
The ARTEC Boxer is a joint venture between KMW and Rheinmetall. [1] The apparent scale of the Boxer is deceptive. The turretless Boxer is almost as tall as a LAV III, is a metre longer, and weighs tonnes more empty than fully-loaded LAV III. In other words, the Boxer is a MAV or Medium Armoured Vehicle. That said, in turreted form, the Boxer offers no advance in payload or dismounts over the CF's existing LAV III.More to come.
Websites to check out.
Boxer was designed from the outset as a true (wheeled) APC, putting protection above air transportability. Result: it's huge, but roomy.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with CASR on that the Boxer is *just* another LAV III though; Boxer is more survivable, faster and maneuverable than the venerable LAV. It can also accomodate more and modern armor and weapon systems; the new turret is proof of that.
well i don't know...but as far as the turret is concerned it was selected by the Spanish Marines to go on their LAV-3
ReplyDeleteLAV-III corresponds to the Piranha 3 while the Boxer is a competitor to the two generations larger and more powerful Piranha 5. The UK dropped out of the Boxer consortium and picked the Piranha 5, then cancelled the program for what that's worth.
ReplyDeleteStill comes back to when you have the M-ATV and the Boxer in the same competition, you don't know what you want.