Germany-based defence company Rheinmetall has received an order from an international customer to provide the parts needed to manufacture the Fuchs 2 (Fox) Armoured Personnel Carrier.
Rheinmetall disclosed this information to the media on October 8, stating that the order worth over hundreds millions of Euros is to be delivered from 2019 to 2020.
Although Rheinmetall did not reveal who the customer is however, only Algeria is known to produce the Fuchs-2 APC under licence.
In 2014, Germany and Algeria entered a USD2.7 billion deal to build the Fuchs-2 APC in Algeria.
A total of 980 Fuchs-2 6×6 APC was built by Algeria, with the first vehicle displayed in May 2015 when the Algerian Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaïd Salah paid a courtesy Visit to the Republican Guard’s Special Intervention Regiment.
The Rheinmetall Fuchs-2 (Fox) Armoured Personnel Carrier
The Fuchs-2 (Fox) armoured personnel carrier is a new version of the 6×6 Fuchs (Fox) Transportpanzer 1. The vehicles are built by Rheinmetall Landsysteme, based in Kiel and Kassel in Germany.
Fuchs-2 APC Specifications
The overall layout of the Rheinmetall Landsysteme Fuchs 2 is almost identical to that of the original Fuchs. The all-welded steel armour hull provides the occupants with protection from 7.62 mm armour piercing bullets.
There is also an option to upgrade the level of protection further to provide protection against 12.7 and 14.5 mm armour-piercing attack, artillery fragments and mines.
When compared to the current Rheinmetall Landsysteme Fuchs, the new Fuchs 2 has a number of significant improvements. The troop compartment roof has been raised 145 mm for greater internal volume and the roof-mounted air inlet/outlet louvres have been redesigned.
CREW: Up to 12
LENGTH: 6.83m
WIDTH: 2.98m
HEIGHT: 2.42m
With a maximum combat weight of 22,000 kg the Fuchs 2 is fully amphibious, being propelled in the water by two Schottel propellers mounted one either side of the hull at the rear. These propellers can be traversed through 360° and with the wheels and propellers being used together Rheinmetall Landsysteme has stated that the Fuchs 2 has excellent water ingress and egress capabilities.
The weapon fit of the Fuchs 2 depends on the operational requirement with a typical example being fitted with a new RLS 609 one-person external weapon system armed with a .50 (12.7 mm) M2 machine gun or a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.