Fuchs CBRN detection

Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land has won a £16 million Fuchs/Fox vehicle sustainment contract from the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The contract is to upgrade and sustain the British Army’s fleet of Fuchs/Fox CBRN reconnaissance vehicles and training simulator. The upgrades delivered under the contract will provide an increase in interoperability and commonality with a number of the UK’s NATO partners. The vehicles will also provide the British Army with an advanced ability to detect CBRN threats.

The Fuchs is a 6x6 armoured vehicle with built-in detection equipment for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats. Rheinmetall possesses longstanding experience and wide-ranging expertise in this high-tech field. Thanks to continuous technical advances and performance upgrades, international users of the CBRN Reconnaissance Fuchs/Fox are able to access the very latest in sensor technology.

RBSL will address equipment-related obsolescence issues and upgrade the system with the latest generation of sensing capabilities. The RBSL team will use their expertise in vehicle integration technology to upgrade and sustain the fleet. Experts from Rheinmetall Landsysteme will supply the necessary expertise in NBC reconnaissance and detection technology from of its centre of excellence for NBC systems technology in Kassel.

According to a 2019 tender, the sense equipment ion the Fuchs, which were gifted to the British Army in the early 1990s, is becoming obsolete. The Ministry of Defence has a requirement to upgrade both the chemical & radiation detection equipment for 10 platforms and 1 simulator, alongside the provision of in-service support to the out of service date of December 2024 (with the potential to extend to 2027). The contractor will be required to purchase replacement chemical and radiation sense equipment and integrate these accordingly, while providing in-service support

The team will also review safety risks and implement a new support contract that includes technical support, provision of spares and repairs, maintenance, training, and design services. The work will be led out of RBSL’s facility in Telford, West Midlands, with the support of a UK supply chain. “This impressive contract award is a strong and positive step to evolve our traditional equipment into nimble and ground-breaking technologies,” said Minister for the Armed Forces, James Heappey.

Peter Hardisty, RBSL Managing Director, said the contract provided a unique opportunity to work collaboratively with Rheinmetall – its majority shareholder and Fuchs Design Authority – and a range of UK SMEs. The German government gave the British Army 11 ex-German Army Fuchs vehicles in 1990 to support ground operations during the First Gulf War. The Fuchs/Fox is in service with customers worldwide and has proven to be highly effective in numerous operations.