The Canadian government has contracted Rheinmetall’s Canadian subsidiary to produce 85 heavy recovery vehicles for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as part of its Enhanced Recovery Capability (ERC) project, the company announced on 14 November 2024.
The five-year purchase agreement, worth CAD 325 million (EUR 215 million), includes vehicles, recovery equipment and other modifications, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2027. A supplementary CAD 28.9 million multi-year in-service support contract has also been awarded to Rheinmetall.
Serving as prime contractor, Rheinmetall Canada will replace the CAF’s heavy logistic vehicle wheeled recovery fleet with 85 HX 8×8 trucks, each equipped with a heavy towing and recovery module. This will provide the CAF with enhanced capabilities to effectively recover and tow their latest generation of heavier armoured and logistical vehicles. The new HX heavy recovery vehicles also provide additional capabilities, such as an integrated rotary crane that can be used for container handling and other crane work.
Purpose-built for military use with a high level of protection and characterised by high mobility, reliability and durability, the HX recovery vehicles “will provide logistic support to combat forces anywhere on the battlefield, even in the most stringent conditions”, according to Rheinmetall.
The ERC project team will be led by Rheinmetall Canada and supported by Austro-German joint venture Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV); US firm Miller Industries Towing Equipment; and hydraulic winch supplier Rotzler Holding, which is based in Germany with operations in Canada.
“Together, this strong team will provide a sophisticated best-in-class recovery solution that will enable the CAF to fulfil its tasks in support of Canadian national interests. This vehicle is an extraordinary system which will meet Canada’s needs for decades to come,” Pietro Mazzei, president and CEO of Rheinmetall Canada, was quoted as saying in a company press release.
The HX truck range was designed by MAN and is based around MAN’s automotive components. The design is considered the spiritual successor of the MAN Kat 1 high-mobility trucks of the 1970s.
ESD sources have suggested that the Rheinmetall/RMMV team ended up being the sole bidder for the Canadian ERC requirement, when an already-over-complex requirement was further complicated by the need to comply with the widely varying road and operating regulations across Canada’s 10 provinces.
