On the test track at its Kassel base, arms group Rheinmetall is showing off what the new addition to its model series, dubbed “Evolution,” can do.
Kassel – When the black Fuchs wheeled tank turns upside down, describes a small curve and then rolls forward again, the man behind the wheel sticks his hands through the roof of the vehicle. The laptop is operated on a bar table – as long as visual communication is possible: on the test track at its Kassel location, arms group Rheinmetall shows what the new addition to the model series, called “Evolution”, can do. .
The demonstration is part of a two-day symposium where around 70 participants will exchange expertise and experiences. They include suppliers and buyers. The six-wheeled armored personnel carrier is sold in eight countries, and the Bundeswehr still has 825 units in stock.
Fuchs reaches a top speed of 100 km/h
There are many types of foxes, for example a pioneer or ambulance vehicle or for explosive ordnance disposal. He participated in German military missions abroad in Mali, Somalia and Afghanistan – and developed a weakness: the armor was strengthened in the past, but the engine remained the same.
The new Evolution model now has an engine with 455 hp. The vehicle is seven meters long and weighs 24.5 tons and can reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Rheinmetall has already delivered the engine to customers, but it has so far been installed in light armored vehicles.
“In the current situation, the first customer will be Ukraine. The group has established a joint venture with the Ukrainian state-owned company Ukroboronprom. The new Fuchs may also be assembled there, but “the most important parts are still coming from Germany,” said Marius Meyering, sales manager of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, about the new model.
“Historically, the fox has been the backbone of the Kassel plant,” stresses Meyering. It was originally developed by Thyssen-Henschel, an arms company that was acquired by Daimler-Benz and Rheinmetall. where it is today Castle Only repairs over 100 Fuchs tanks a year. Along with this comes the production of new vehicles. Of the 1,200 employees at the site, about 150 work on wheeled tank development.
Cassel: Will government programs dim the fox’s shine?
However, the federal government could have plans to take some of the shine off the “icon,” as Rheinmetall calls the fox. EUR 4 billion of items to buy six-wheeled armored vehicles were removed from the EUR 100 billion Bundeswehr special fund, and in April Finnish arms group Patria announced that Germany had joined a project launched by Finland, Sweden and Latvia. The six-wheeler Patria wants to develop a new transport vehicle based on the wheeled armored vehicle.
So far there are no such vehicles in Germany. “According to the definition of the Bundeswehr, the Patria is not available on the market in Germany,” says Meyering. According to “Handelsblatt”, Esa Rautalinko, head of the relatively small Patria group, can imagine involving German industry in the project. Rheinmetall or Krauss-Maffei Wegmann could be part of the game. “Cooperation is one way – given the right conditions,” says Meyering. A role as an extended workbench without German added value is not acceptable for Rheinmetall. (Barbara Will)
. “Amateur alcohol specialist. Reader. Hardcore introvert. Freelance explorer.”