Pabrade – Lithuania, 24 February 2024 – The final series production vehicle of the Lithuania BOXER (VILKAS) order successfully passed its Live Fire Testing on 24 February 2024. This was an important milestone, marking the last step of the handover procedure for this vehicle and thus concludes the acceptance of the Batch 1 series production vehicles.
In total, the OCCAR BOXER Programme has delivered 91 BOXER vehicles in 4 different variants to the Lithuanian customer, who is now the first nation to have a BOXER with a 30mm gun. The introduction of this global, state-of-the-art Infantry Fighting Vehicle is the result of significant collaborative effort from all parties involved particularly due to the supply chain challenges faced over the last 24 months.
Upon completion of the project, the two battalions of the Iron Wolf Brigade of the Lithuanian Armed Forces have been fully equipped with BOXERS (VILKAS). “Today the combat capability of the brigade Iron Wolf reinforced with vehicles Boxers meets the highest NATO standards and is of great significance for Lithuania's security”, Lithuanian Minister of National Defence, Mr. Arvydas Anušauskas said.
The overall international Boxer programme, with four participating nations (Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania and the United Kingdom), is managed by OCCAR, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation. The programme is delivered through the prime industrial partner, ARTEC GmbH, a joint venture between KNDS and Rheinmetall.