OCCAR Orders 69 More Schakal IFVs: Germany-Netherlands Boxer Fleet Hits 291
Europe’s multinational armaments cooperation agency OCCAR has placed an order for 69 additional Schakal infantry fighting vehicles under the joint Boxer programme run on behalf of Germany and the Netherlands. The contract was awarded to Artec GmbH, the Rheinmetall-KNDS Deutschland joint venture that serves as the Boxer family’s prime contractor.
Of the new order, 35 vehicles are destined for the German Army and 34 for the Dutch armed forces. The move lifts the two countries’ shared Schakal fleet to 291 vehicles in total, split between 185 for Germany and 106 for the Netherlands.
The programme traces back to an initial contract signed in October 2025 for 222 vehicles — 150 for Germany and 72 for the Netherlands — which also included options for up to 200 additional units. The newly activated batch of 69 vehicles marks the first exercise of that option.
Designated the Boxer RCT30 in OCCAR’s own records, the Schakal mates the 8×8 Boxer armoured personnel carrier hull with the turret of the tracked Puma infantry fighting vehicle. It is armed with the Rheinmetall MK30-2/ABM 30mm autocannon, capable of firing programmable air-burst munitions, alongside MELLS anti-tank missiles — Germany’s designation for the Spike LR.
The vehicle’s digital fire-control, communications and networking suite is built to integrate with other ground units. OCCAR describes it as carrying a crew of one plus six dismounts, giving it the role of transporting a mechanised infantry squad while providing direct fire support.
Deliveries are scheduled to run from May 2032 to November 2033. Rheinmetall says the order draws on a wide German supplier base, including KNDS Deutschland, MTU and Hensoldt.
The Schakal’s wheeled design sits at the core of Germany’s “medium forces” concept, intended to offer faster strategic mobility than heavier tracked formations. Commonality across the Boxer family is also meant to cut training requirements and lower maintenance and logistics costs over the vehicle’s service life.
Rheinmetall has linked the order to a possible, much larger “Arminius” Boxer procurement programme under discussion in Germany; the company says that if that programme goes ahead, it could accelerate Schakal deliveries under the existing options. No financial value for the current contract has been disclosed.
As the contracting authority, OCCAR manages the agreement on behalf of its member states while Artec GmbH handles industrial execution — a division of labour the organisation applies across several other multinational European defence programmes it coordinates.
The expansion of the Boxer fleet also fits a broader pattern among NATO’s European members of steadily growing land-vehicle orders to keep production lines running and modernise forces along the alliance’s eastern flank.
With the Schakal now in the mix, the Boxer family spans troop transport, command, ambulance and now heavily armed infantry-fighting-vehicle variants built on a common chassis — reinforcing its standing as a model for platform commonality within NATO.
Sources
Infodefensa, “Los ejércitos de Alemania y Países Bajos encargan otras 69 unidades del vehículo de combate de infantería sobre ruedas Schakal,” 3 November 2026, https://www.infodefensa.com/texto-diario/mostrar/6072256/ejercitos-alemania-paises-bajos-encargan-otras-69-unidades-vehiculo-combate-infanteria-sobre-ruedas-schakal — primary source for the order details and contract history.
