The Bundeswehr has contracted Rheinmetall to supply 568 logistics vehicles in orders worth more than EUR 330 million, the company announced on 20 January 2025.
The order includes 349 unprotected transport vehicle (UTF) trucks in 5-tonne- and 15-tonne-payload models, as well as 219 trucks with a swap-body system, 121 of which will have a protected driver’s cab. The UTF trucks are to be delivered in 2026 and the swap-body trucks by November 2025.
The budget committee of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, approved the funds on 18 December 2024 and Rheinmetall booked the orders in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The UTF truck order comes under a framework agreement concluded in July 2024 – the company’s largest ever order for logistic vehicles — that covers the delivery of up to 6,500 trucks worth up to EUR 3.5 billion gross. The framework agreement allows the Bundeswehr to flexibly order additional quantities of the already-introduced UTF 5t and UTF 15t trucks over seven years. In addition, a new vehicle class will be introduced under the framework agreement, the 4×4 model UTF 3.5t, which has a high degree of commonality with the rest of the UTF family.
In 2024 Rheinmetall delivered a record 2,015 logistics vehicles, making a significant contribution to strengthening the Bundeswehr’s logistical capabilities. This marked a major step forward in the modernisation of the Bundeswehr’s truck fleet and the expansion of its logistical capabilities. The vehicles delivered in 2024 included 1,715 swap-body systems, 250 unprotected transport vehicles and 50 semi-trailer units, ordered under existing framework agreements between the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) and Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV).
The Bundeswehr commissioned RMMV to supply its new UTF mil gl family in the 5t and 15t payload classes in July 2017. The UTF range has since become a showcase project due to the use of flexible framework contracts for high volumes in military procurement.
The UTF and swap-body system are based on RMMV’s robust HX family of trucks. As they are entirely designed for military use, they are highly mobile, including in difficult terrain.
More than 6,000 HX vehicles, including the swap-body systems and 70t semi-trailer units, have been delivered to the Bundeswehr since 2017.
In addition to Germany, current users of HX trucks include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Singapore, Slovenia, Denmark and Ukraine. More than 20,000 HX vehicles are already in use worldwide.
