Rheinmetall has been given its largest ever logistic vehicle order from the Bundeswehr, covering the delivery of as many as 6,500 military trucks valued at up to EUR 3.5 billion (including VAT), the company announced on 1 July 2024.
After the budget committee of the Federal German Parliament had approved funding on 26 June 2024, the contract with Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) was signed on 1 July 2024 by the president of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), Annette Lehnigk-Emden, and the management of RMMV. A first call-off for over 610 vehicles, valued at EUR 312 million (including VAT) is imminent, of which 250 trucks are to be delivered in 2024. The financing of this call is mainly based on the special funds of the Bundeswehr. Rheinmetall AG will book the order in the third quarter of 2024 in the current fiscal year.
This framework-contract allows the Bundeswehr to flexibly order further quantities of already-introduced Unprotected Transportation Vehicles (Ungeschützte Transportfahrzeug – UTFs), in the form of UTF 5t and UTF 15t trucks, for seven years. In addition to that, a new vehicle category will be introduced via the framework contract, the 4×4 UTF 3.5t, which has substantially similar parts to the UTF family.
“The framework contract is an essential contribution to a fast fulfilment of demand by the logistic forces of the Bundeswehr,” Michael Wittlinger, chairman of the RMMV management, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “The standardised vehicle family and the uniformity with vehicles of other beneficiary nations establish the HX vehicles as the main logistic vehicles within NATO and set a standard for interoperability and logistic efficiency within the Alliance. Once again, this order reflects our leading role in the global market for logistic vehicles.”
“The extremely short period of four months from the invitation to tender to the signature of the contract underlines once more that the turning point for procuring logistic trucks has been introduced”, added Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall. “We are thankful for the trust in the products of Rheinmetall.”
Already, the UTF family has been contributing significantly to the performance of the Bundeswehr’s logistic units. In July 2017 the Bundeswehr placed an order at RMMV for the delivery of UTF military all-terrain trucks with 5-tonne and 15-tonne load capacities. The UTFs are a showcase project that present a new way of doing procurement; it has been the first time that flexible framework agreements with large quantities have been concluded. Since 2017 more than 6,000 HX vehicles will have been delivered to the Bundeswehr by the end of 2024, together with swap-body loader systems (Wechselladersystem, or WLS) and 70-tonne tractor units. A large proportion of the added value in the WLSs and UTFs – over 75% – is created in Germany.
The UTF and WLS are based on RMMV’s robust HX family of trucks. From the beginning these were designed for military use and characterised by high mobility, even in heavy terrain. The large worldwide distribution of the HX vehicle family offers major advantages concerning interoperability and logistics, especially with respect to multinational missions. In addition to Germany, the HX user group currently includes the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Singapore, Slovenia, Denmark and Ukraine. Around 20,000 HX vehicles are already in use worldwide.
