WFEL Hosts British Army Deputy Chief of General Staff to announce additional 100 Boxer Armoured Vehicles Contract

WFEL was delighted to host in Stockport the British Army's Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Sir Christopher Tickell KBE, together with Chris Bushell, D.G. Land, Defence Equipment and Support and other senior industry colleagues from DE&S and RBSL, for the official announcement confirming a contractual extension with the ARTEC consortium worth several hundred million pounds, that will see the British Army receive an additional 100 Boxer Armoured vehicles.  
The manufacture of wheeled Boxer vehicles for the British Army is already well underway at WFEL's new Boxer vehicle facility in Stockport.  This contract extension will include extra Infantry Carrier vehicles, Command & Control vehicles and Ambulances which will be used by the British Army’s new Armoured Brigade Combat Teams, as a first uplift to increase the Force Structure, as planned in the 2021 Defence Command Paper. 
This latest contract for 100 vehicles is in addition to the earlier £2.8bn contract signed between ARTEC and UK MoD for more than 500 Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicles. The additional vehicles will be manufactured in both UK and Germany and will be delivered from 2024, whilst the original order for 523 Boxer vehicles will deliver from 2023.
Germany has supported the UK Boxer programme’s development, through the help of loan vehicles, data and collaboration, and transferring real production skills into UK industry and operating experience into the British Army.
Defence Procurement Minister, Jeremy Quin said: “This order will accelerate the delivery of the Boxer fleet to the British Army and increase its numbers.
“The land equipment upgrade is a vital element of the Integrated Review, on which we continue to deliver.  Doing so, alongside our German allies, creates opportunities for both our Armed Forces.”
Following an extensive technology transfer programme from Germany, the UK Boxer Programme is creating 120 additional jobs at WFEL and sustaining a further number, in addition to creating a new, vibrant and robust UK supply chain to support the vehicles throughout their 30+ year life.  Further UK job creation and sustainment is already being seen within WFEL's growing UK-wide supply chain, which is set to further expand as the Boxer Programme progresses.
Chris Bushell, Director General Land, Defence Equipment and Support, the procurement arm of the Ministry of Defence, said: “This contract extension is great news for the Boxer programme and committing to buying an extra 100 vehicles demonstrates our confidence in the programme and the benefits of the capability. 
Not only is this great news for the future of the British Army but it will also boost our commitment to investing in the UK’s defence industry and supply chains, meaning we can retain critical engineering and manufacturing skills in the UK.”