With a technical inspection in live fire on February 24th in Pabrade, Lithuania reached the final step in the handover process of the 91 Boxer Vilkas and thus completed the acceptance of the series vehicles of the first batch. This was announced by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense and the European procurement organization OCCAR.
The statement shows that 91 Boxer vehicles in four different variants have been delivered to the Lithuanian customer as part of the OCCAR Boxer program. Lithuania is now the first nation to have a Boxer with a 30 mm cannon. The introduction of this state-of-the-art infantry fighting vehicle is the result of significant joint efforts from all parties involved, particularly due to the supply chain challenges encountered over the last 24 months.
In 2016, Lithuania ordered a total of 88 Boxers from the manufacturer ARTEC, a joint venture between Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, through OCCAR, making it the third user nation - after Germany and the Netherlands - of the GTK Boxer armored transport vehicle.
After the delivery of two driving school vehicles in 2017, a total of 15 Vilkas were to be delivered to Lithuania in 2019. The remaining 71 vehicles should be available to the Iron Wolf Mechanized Infantry Brigade by the end of 2021 (ESuTreported).
The number of vehicles ordered was later increased to 91. Of the total number of Boxers, 55 are designed as group vehicles, 18 as platoon commander vehicles and twelve as company commander vehicles. Four Boxers will be equipped as lead vehicles. All Boxers correspond to the A2 configuration, with improved position of the remote weapon station and improved protection, numerous electrical adjustments to prepare for new equipment such as driver's vision devices, jammers and satellite radio.
Mission modules with the unmanned Elbit turret Samson MK II were built for Lithuania for the first time. In addition to the 30mm Bushmaster cannon and a light machine gun, the turret is equipped with a launcher for Spike-LR anti-tank guided missiles.
The scheduled delivery of the Boxer Vilkas could not be adhered to due to technical defects. Details were not communicated. Insiders reported that the tower did not harmonize with the rest of the mission module. Further delays were attributed to supply chain disruptions that have occurred over the past 24 months.
Minister Arvydas. Anušauskas pointed out that after intensive negotiations with the manufacturers, the desired system improvements and additional test trials were agreed in 2022, as the Vilkas AFVs delivered by 2020 had defects. Now the boxers in Lithuania are no longer subject to any operating restrictions.
The Vilkas project, which was carried out as part of the contracts signed in 2016, has a cost framework of approximately 670 million euros. The amount fully covers not only the armored personnel carriers, but also logistical support, spare parts and ammunition.
According to the ministry, after completion of the project, the two battalions of the Iron Wolf Brigade of the Lithuanian Armed Forces will be fully equipped with Boxer Vilkas. “The combat capability of the Iron Wolves brigade, reinforced with Boxer vehicles, today meets the highest NATO standards and is of great importance for the security of Lithuania,” Anušauskas said.
In April 2022, Anušauskas announced that Lithuania wanted to procure more than a hundred more boxers (ESuTreported). This was intended to equip two more battalions. The announcement came in connection with the procurement initiative presented by the minister shortly after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which aims to procure defense material worth one billion euros from the USA and Germany. In May 2023, the conclusion of a procurement contract for around 120 boxers was announced. So far nothing further has been known about it.
The procurement initiative also includes self-propelled howitzers 2000, CAESAR wheeled howitzers, HIMARS rocket launchers and, most recently, Leopard 2 A8 main battle tanks.
Lithuania wants to build a powerful division that will consist of three brigades: Iron Wolf (Rukla), Griffin (Klaipeda) and Aukštaitija Reserve (Vilnius). In addition to the NATO battle group already stationed there as part of the enhanced forward presence (eFP) and the forward command post of the eVA brigade (enhanced vigilance activity), the country's defense preparedness is to be supplemented by a German combat brigade, the construction of which will begin on site next year should.
Gerhard Heiming
