WFEL and KMW commission DBS to assemble UK BOXER MIV power packs
Image courtesy WFEL
On behalf of WFEL and KMW, David Brown Santasalo will assemble around 250 Powerpack blocks (transmission, engine and cooling systems), beginning delivery in Autumn 2022 and covering a 10-year period of supply.
As part of KMW's extensive UK Boxer Technology Transfer Programme, this particular contract will sustain and create at least 20 jobs in the North of England at David Brown Santasalo and its wider supply chain, whilst further contributing to the UK's sovereign industrial defence capabilities.
DBS is internationally recognised as one of the most innovative suppliers of bespoke land and marine power transmission systems. The £30 million order will ensure that the fully assembled and tested Powerpack units are delivered to WFEL’s new, dedicated, state-of-the-art BOXER MIV production facility in Stockport, where they will be integrated into the BOXER vehicles.
Steve Watson, DBS Global Defence Director and Managing Director UK said: “Through the development of this key partnership with KMW and WFEL, we are delighted to continue to contribute to the UK economy and our local community through job retention and creation of new roles. We relish the opportunity to continue to strengthen our local team.”
The Boxer vehicles are being provided to the UK MoD as part of the £2.3bn contract placed with the ARTEC consortium in November 2019.
Ian Anderton, WFEL Managing Director, commented: "As we head closer towards the first ever manufacture of BOXER vehicles here in the UK, we are delighted to welcome DBS to our UK supply chain, a company which has undergone rigorous supplier selection criteria, as part of our wider programme of manufacturing readiness for this vital new capability for the British Army's Strike Brigade."
The David Brown Santasalo contract is one of the first tranche of UK supply chain contracts to be awarded for the BOXER MIV programme and will help support economic growth and level-up regional economic opportunity. The MIV programme aims to support and enhance the UK supply chain, including SMEs. It will also ensure that the UK retains the skills and expertise to support the BOXER vehicles throughout their operational life.
In November 2019, ARTEC, a joint venture between two German companies – Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall – signed the £2.3bn contract to deliver 500+ Boxer vehicles to the British Army.
The vehicles will be manufactured in the UK, with production subcontracted equally between WFEL and Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL). The companies will undertake the fabrication of the armoured vehicle structures together with the assembly, integration and test of the complete vehicles at their respective facilities in Stockport and Telford.
The MIV contract will sustain jobs at WFEL and RBSL sites across the UK, as well as a vibrant national supply chain. The MIV programme aims to source 60%, by value, of the contract from within the UK, protecting sovereign engineering and manufacturing skills and ensuring that the vehicles remain supported through their 30-year operational life.
Boxer is a state-of-the-art wheeled armoured vehicle with outstanding mobility and protection features. Its design allows for any Mission Module configuration with a payload of up to circa 15 tonnes. So far, more than 800 vehicles in various configurations have been supplied to, or ordered by, three NATO nations – Germany, the Netherlands and Lithuania – as well as Australia.
