 Rheinmetall to upgrade German Fox armored vehicles Dusseldorf, Germany (UPI) Dec 12, 2016 - The German legislature awarded Rheinmetall a $143 million contract to upgrade 90 Fox armored transport vehicles for the country's armed forces. The contract is a follow-up to previous orders that modernized 177 of the Bundeswehr Fuchs/Fox vehicles to the latest 1A8 standard. Rheinmetall says the configuration provides improved resistance to mines and improvised explosive devices. Under the new contract, the company will conduct structural alteration of the hulls, install new seats, reinforce wheel housings and vehicle exterior, and add more storage bins. The operation will bring the total number of German-owned 1A8 Fox vehicles to 267. The Fox, known as the Fuchs in Germany, first entered service in the 1970s. Rheinmetall says roughly 1,200 are currently in service around the world. The company adds the latest round of upgrades has the potential to significantly expand the operational scope of the vehicles. The Bundeswehr has fielded the 1A8 in a variety of roles, including a mobile command post, armored personnel carriers, an EOD vehicle and a field ambulance.
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The U.S. Army is set to begin testing its first Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle as it continues its M113 replacement program.
The branch expects its first delivery from BAE Systems on Dec. 15. The new vehicle will roll out from the company's plant in York, Penn. BAE Systems has been contracted to provide at least 29 of the next-generation infantry vehicles. Once delivered, the units will undergo 52 months of engineering and manufacturing.
The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, or AMPV is part of the U.S. Army's effort to replace its Vietnam War-era M113 family of armored vehicles. Designed to operate alongside M1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles, the AMPV will feature improved protection, mobility and interoperability.
"At the end of the day, a combat vehicle is about a box," program director Maj. Gen. David G. Bassett said in a press release. "[Inside, are the latest] mobility system, lethality system, communications system and some other things. If you can take all those and put them on an existing vehicle, then maybe you don't have to build a whole new vehicle from scratch, along with the ris associated with that kind of development."
The Army also plans to issue an "analysis of alternatives." The report is expected in early 2017.
"We're not willing to go through a lengthy bottom-up design process. We're willing to give you time on your own to get a design ready to compete and then we'll evaluate that fairly rapidly in the engineering, manufacturing, development phase, not unlike what the Marine Corps did," Bassett added.
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