Two of Australian Army’s Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRV) were put to the test when they completed their wet and dry environmental rehearsals (WADER) at Cowley Beach training area in Queensland during Exercise Sea Explorer last month. Working in an amphibious task group, troops conducted ship-to-shore training serials, launching the 38-tonne armoured vehicles from a landing helicopter deck landing craft and transporting them to shore. The Boxer provides an enhanced protected platform with increased fire power and more mobility than its predecessor, the Australian light armoured vehicle.
Boxer troop leader Lieutenant Stefano Rankin, from 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment said,”It was good to see the Boxer tested again on amphibious exercises. It’s been a great opportunity to introduce this new capability into the amphibious force, and being a part of that journey has been an exciting process. Working with our partners in the Australian Navy will enable us to deploy around Australia, and potentially around the globe, and force project with the Boxer to make the most of its capability.”
The completion of the WADER serials certifies the troops and the Boxer for deployment on the live-fire Exercise Sea Raider later this year. The Australian amphibious force’s (AAF) rehearsed in wet and dry environments in the exercise component, where troops trained day and night to familiarise themselves with the conduct of amphibious operations in Adelaide’s dock and on its flight deck. The exercises provided learning opportunities for personnel from each service to better understand the capabilities each brought to amphibious operations and how they could best integrate to achieve whatever mission was required.
The Boxer is a multirole armoured fighting vehicle designed by an international consortium to accomplish a number of operations through the use of installable mission modules. The Boxer vehicle is produced by the ARTEC GmbH industrial group; its parent companies are Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH and Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH on the German side, and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland B.V. for the Netherlands. Australian Government Department of Defence has contracted Rheinmetall Defence Australia to deliver and support 211 Boxer 8×8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) for the Australian Army.
