Germany and the Netherlands Order 69 More Boxer RCT30s, Taking the Joint Buy to 291

Germany and the Netherlands have ordered 69 additional Boxer RCT30 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, the joint armament agency OCCAR announced on 7 August 2026, lifting the two countries' combined buy of the type to 291 systems.

The order is an option exercised against the base contract signed in 2025 for 222 vehicles, valued at 4.7 billion euros. The Bundeswehr takes 35 of the new vehicles, raising its order to 185, while the Royal Netherlands Army takes 34 for a fleet of 106. The contract is placed with ARTEC GmbH, the joint venture of KNDS Deutschland and Rheinmetall that acts as prime contractor for the Boxer programme. Neither OCCAR nor the manufacturers disclosed the value of the option, but KNDS said the new investment takes the total committed to the Boxer over the past twelve months to roughly 6.5 billion euros.

The RCT30 pairs the eight-wheeled Boxer drive module with the 30 mm turret developed for the Puma infantry fighting vehicle. It carries six dismounted soldiers, mounts the MELLS multi-role light guided missile system for anti-armor work, and is credited by the manufacturers with a capability against drones and low-flying aircraft. In Bundeswehr service the vehicle is designated Schakal and is intended as the backbone of Germany's new Medium Forces, the wheeled formations meant to sit between light infantry and the armored brigades.

The order lands on top of a Boxer fleet that is already the largest of any user. Germany fields 403 Boxers in its army inventory and has 609 more on order across every variant, 185 of them Schakals once this option is counted, while the Netherlands operates 200 alongside an RCT30 order this option lifts from 72 to 106. Both sit next to substantial tracked fleets: the German Army still runs 362 Marder 1s and 337 Pumas with 250 further Pumas on order, so the RCT30 is an addition to the mechanized force rather than a replacement for either.

Outside the two partner nations, the largest Boxer commitment is British: the British Army had taken 100 vehicles by June 2026 against an order of 623, leaving 523 to come. The Australian Army holds 25 Boxer CRVs with 186 to come, and Qatar was the first export customer for the RCT30 turret configuration, with 6 delivered and 4 outstanding. KNDS says the Boxer is now in service with seven nations and the RCT30 under contract with four.

Germany, tenth in the global military power ranking, has driven most of the programme's recent growth, and the joint structure is the stated reason for running the Dutch buy through the same contract. Joint procurement "enables faster deliveries" and "guarantees interoperability between the armed forces", KNDS Deutschland's chief executive said.

Neither OCCAR nor ARTEC published a delivery schedule for the 69 additional vehicles.