MTL Advanced delivers first full UK-built Boxer Mission Module to KNDS

Image courtesy MTL

The milestone marks a significant achievement for UK land defence manufacturing and represents the culmination of over two years of close collaboration between the two companies.

The handover ceremony took place at MTL Advanced’s Brinsworth headquarters in Rotherham and was attended by KNDS Directors Tom Winney and Roland Hoegerle alongside the Secretary of State for Defence and local Rotherham MP Rt Hon John Healey.

This Mission Module is the first to be built entirely in the UK, from raw plate material through to final fabrication and is part of MTL’s base order with KNDS for over 100 modules, a number expected to grow in the coming years. The order forms part of more than £40 million in contracts awarded by KNDS to MTL Advanced to support the UK’s Boxer MIV programme, which also include over 450 Drive Module armour kits for KNDS’s fabrication line in Stockport. 

Karl Stewart, General Manager at MTL Advanced, commented: “This is an incredibly proud moment for MTL Advanced, our people, and the UK defence manufacturing sector. Delivering the first fully UK-built Mission Module demonstrates the strength of our partnership with KNDS and our capability to deliver world-class defence solutions. Our team has worked tirelessly to transfer the specialist knowledge from Germany to the UK, ensuring we can meet the highest standards required for this vital programme.”

MTL Advanced has been a key supplier to the Boxer programme for over 18 years, working with both KNDS (formerly KMW) and Rheinmetall. The company was the first UK business to qualify to the German Bundeswehr TL standards for processing armoured steel.

The first mission module handover ceremony was followed by a tour of MTL’s 387,000 sq. ft. facility in Rotherham which included a visit of the company’s award-winning Training Academy where 15-20 new apprentices start their engineering career every year. First Year Apprentices were given the chance to showcase some of their work to the Secretary of State for Defence and esteemed guests from KNDS.

Over 100 apprentices have now come through the doors of MTL in-house Academy since it opened its doors in 2015 and the company’s home-grown talent has played a critical role in the company’s recent growth and success.

With now over 440 employees and annual sales expected to exceed £64 million in 2025, MTL Advanced is recognised globally as a market leader in the processing of armoured steels and complex fabrications. The business has invested more than £15 million in additional factory space and state-of-the-art equipment over the past two years, with further investments planned for late 2025.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “It was great to speak with the brilliant apprentices at MTL Advanced and to hear how important local home-grown talent has been to the success of the business and the delivery of the UK’s innovative Boxer MIV programme. 

“In this new era for defence, we are proud to be backing British industry, British innovators and British jobs. Our Defence Industrial Strategy will help keep us safe and make defence an engine for growth in every region and nation of the UK.”

The Mission Module will now be integrated into the Boxer vehicles for the British Army, marking another step in bringing advanced armoured vehicle production fully back to the UK.

This important milestone has been reached just ahead of the bi-annual DSEI Defence Exhibition, which is taking place at Excel London from 9th-12th September 2025 and where MTL is showcasing its armoured steel fabrication capabilities.