Rheinmetall has announced the development of a new version of the FUCHS/FOX wheeled armoured transport vehicle. This can serve in roles ranging from tactical operations centre to armoured field ambulance. Rheinmetall is presenting a demonstrator configuration of the armoured field ambulance at the Congress of the Gesellschaft für Wehrmedizin und Wehrpharmazie, a German NGO dedicated to military medicine and military pharmaceuticals, which takes place in the Rhein-Mosel-Halle convention centre in Koblenz.

The high-roof FUCHS/FOX demonstrator’s interior volume measures 12 cubic metres, with headroom increased to 1.60 metres from the previous 1.26 metres. The armoured field ambulance version can carry four wounded personnel, two lying down and two seated. Furthermore, the vehicle is equipped with a 360-degree panoramic vision system. Featuring fusion and a daytime/night-time capability, it is identical to the system used in the PUMA IFV. This substantially enhances the crew’s situational awareness, the company writes. A NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture-conformant connection to additional sensors or a weapons station is possible, as is the use of virtual reality goggles, which enable the crew to “see” through the armour.

In a manner analogous to the PUMA, the FUCHS/FOX is also able to communicate with dismounted forces, including medics in this case, who are equipped with a special variant of the Future Soldier – Expanded System (IdZ-ES) soldier system. Thanks to uniform command-and-control technology, “Future Medics” will have access to the same situation information as the troops they support.

JH