Boxer MIV Goes Into Production

WFEL's Stockport factory starts assembling the first Boxer MIVs for the British Army.

06 July 2021

 

 

UK Boxer MIV programme

 

WFEL has commenced production of the Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicles (MIV) for the British Army at its new manufacturing plant in the North West of England. The fabrication of vehicle sub-assemblies took place over the last few weeks at WFEL’s new production facility at Stockport. 

As part of the extensive Technology Transfer Programme between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, which alongside Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles, is part of the ARTEC consortium responsible for designing and marketing the vehicle, WFEL UK welding personnel have undertaken secondments of up to a year at KMW's Boxer manufacturing site in Hamburg, Germany.

In Hamburg they have worked on the production of Boxer vehicles for KMW’s existing customers and are now fully qualified to undertake the complex work required to produce fabricated Drive Module hulls for the UK Boxer variants.

As well as manufacturing the armoured hulls for the British Army's new vehicles, WFEL will be responsible for the Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) of a total of 225 Boxer MIV vehicles under the £2.3 billion contract signed between UK MoD and ARTEC in November 2019.

Delivery  of the highly protected 8x8 armoured vehicles is scheduled  to begin at the end of 2022. WFEL has been selected as the KMW UK footprint for the Boxer MIV Program and will employ high levels of UK content, creating and protecting sovereign engineering and manufacturing skills, ensuring that the vehicles remain supported through their operational life.

WFEL has recently announced a number of sub-contract awards as part of the supply chain roll out programme for the Boxer MIV programme, including agreements with Horstman, David Brown Santasalo and BCW Engineering.

On 25th May, UK Defence Minister, Jeremy Quin, officially opened WFEL's new Boxer vehicle production facility.