Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) has secured a contract for an sizeable additional lot of logistics vehicles for the Austrian Army, the company announced on 19 December 2023.
A corresponding enlargement of the existing framework agreement with Bundesbeschaffung GmbH (BGG) of Vienna, the Austrian procurement organisation, envisages delivery of up to 300 trucks, primarily from the HX family of vehicles. The expanded contract for the newly won lot runs for 48 months and offers the possibility of flexible call-offs of vehicles with an aggregate value of over EUR 300 M.
In the spring of 2023 RMMV won all six available lots in an Austrian Army request for tenders for a total of 23 lots of trucks. The framework contract that resulted from that runs for seven years and envisages the delivery of up to 1,375 vehicles from RMMV’s HX, TGS and TGM series. The order volume for this could be as high as EUR 525 M, according to RMMV, which stated that the award of an additional lot brings the framework contract volume to over EUR 825 M.
The expansion of the framework agreement concluded earlier in 2023 forms part of a comprehensive modernisation of the Austrian Army, the ‘Build-up Plan 2023’ of which calls for substantial investment in the country’s military capabilities. Improving the mobility of forces in the field is a key element of the plan, reflected in the now well-endowed BBG framework agreement.
RMMV noted that Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner recently visited the company’s plant in Vienna’s Liesing district, where she was quoted as saying, “I’m impressed by the professionalism of the work being done here. And I’m very glad that the Austrian armed forces have such a reliable partner as RMMV at their side.”
“The expansion of the framework agreement with Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH is another strong sign that the Austrian Army is modernising, but this applies all the more so to the Austrian economy,” Michael Wittlinger, managing director of RMMV, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “We’re proud not only of our Vienna plant’s contribution to Austrian value added, but also of being able to enhance the resilience, autarky and sustainment of the Austrian Army.”
The Austrian Army has been a solid customer of RMMV for a number of years, procuring vehicles from the company’s TGM, TGS und HX lines. Under the new framework agreement the first half of 2023 witnessed an order for 850 TGM trucks with a double cabin and swap body build-on system as well 15 HX81 armoured recovery vehicles, including an eight-axle trailer.
Furthermore, HX trucks with a three-sided tipper build-on and rear crane are slated for delivery in the next few years, as are TGS 8×8 vehicles with a Palfinger hook system. At the end of 2021, moreover, the Austrian Army placed an order with RMMV for exchangeable integrated armoured cabins. These can be mounted on existing HX vehicles in very short order, in line with operational requirements.
RMMV is a joint venture company in which Rheinmetall AG holds a 51% stake, with the remaining 49% held by MAN Truck & Bus SE.
