The German and Dutch armed forces have contracted with Rheinmetall to supply up to 3,058 Caracal airmobile platforms. Worth up €1.9 billion, the multiyear framework contract includes up to 2,054 vehicles earmarked for Germany and 1,004 for the Netherlands.  As a first step, a firm order from the framework contract has been placed for 1,508 vehicles worth approximately €870 million, including value added tax. To finance the procurement project, Germany is drawing on the special fund set up last year for reequipping the Bundeswehr. 
The Caracal is the product of a partnership between Rheinmetall, Mercedes-Benz AG and Armoured Car Systems GmbH. Delivery of the first trial models is scheduled to take place as early as the first quarter of 2024, with the start of delivery in series planned for early 2025.  
A 4×4 all-wheel-drive vehicle, the Caracal is a mobile platform specially designed to meet the needs of airmobile formations and special operations forces. 

Procurement of the “Deployment System Airmobile Platform” is unfolding against the backdrop of the tense security situation and urgently required new capabilities for national and alliance defence. Owing to the close working relationship between the German and Dutch armed forces and the comparable requirement situation in both countries, the procurement project has been a bilateral one from the outset. 
The tendering process, which began in October 2022, was completed in two fast-paced proposal phases. In the end, Rheinmetall put forward the most economical proposal, with price and technical performance converging to overcome the remaining competitor. 

The Caracal is based on a commercial off-the-shelf chassis of the new G-model 464 series from Mercedes-Benz. In future Rheinmetall will therefore be able to offer users around the world a proven, technically mature platform, providing logistic support throughout the vehicle’s long service life. 

With the Caracal, Rheinmetall’s portfolio of tactical vehicle systems has expanded to embrace the lightweight, less-than-10-ton 4×4 segment, where the Düsseldorf-based tech enterprise sees strong growth potential. 

“Together with our partners Mercedes-Benz AG and Armoured Car Systems GmbH, we’re ready to roll and can advance quickly to full-scale, large-volume series production”, states Dr Björn Bernhard, managing director of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH. “Final assembly of all German and Dutch vehicles will take place at our plant in Ede in the Netherlands and at VDL Special Vehicles B.V. in Eindhoven, our designated partner company. Having two assembly locations will let us quickly scale up production while simultaneously contributing to sustained value added in the Netherlands, our partner country”, notes Dr Bernhard. 

In July 2023, Jankel, a world-leader in the design, integration, manufacture, and support of high-specification vehicles and protection systems, is celebrating the delivery of over 500 Jankel Fox tactical vehicles, globally. The Jankel Fox product line is a family of tactical vehicles based on modified off-the-shelf Toyota base vehicles; either the Hilux or the 79 series pickup (single and double cab), depending on each customer’s s requirements.

The 500 vehicles have been designed, developed and built by Jankel in the UK where the IP resides, as well as being produced in collaboration with their French partners, Technamm who have built the French variant of the Jankel Fox Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV), named ‘Jankel Fox by Masstech’. The vehicle was procured by the French MoD as part of the VPS2 urgent requirement in 2018. The vehicles are manufactured under license in France by Technamm at their Lambesc facility. In 2015, Jankel was awarded an internationally competed contract to supply 108 Jankel Fox 4×4 Rapid Reaction Vehicles (RRV) to the Belgium Ministry of Defence (BeMoD) for use by their Special Forces. The last of the BeMoD Jankel Fox RRVs rolled off the production line in 2020. Since then, Jankel has received a significant number of orders for Jankel Fox vehicles from undisclosed global customers in different variants, bringing the current total to over 500, supporting UK exports and jobs across a growing team of engineers and skilled technicians. The Jankel Fox vehicle is now in service and supported in: UK; USA; NZ; Romania; France; Belgium; Botswana; Oman; Jordan; South Korea; Brunei; Spain; Italy; Mauritania and Indonesia.

The Jankel Fox family comprises of three main role variants: Tactical Utility Vehicle (TUV); Rapid Reaction Vehicle (RRV) and Long Range Patrol Vehicle (LRPV) available in 4×4 and 6×6 variants. Jankel continue to spirally develop the platform in the UK with configurations and developments to integrate future mission systems across the Jankel Fox family. Jankel has designed and integrated upgrades to the off-the-shelf automotive platform systems including: suspension; drive train; brakes; transmission and power generation. The military integration then includes weapons, communications, ECM, modular armour, seating, tools and stowage. The vehicle is compliant with multiple international defence standards that include reliability, integration, service support, operating environments, towing, tie-downs, aircraft and helicopter transportation. The Jankel Fox has a crew of 2-6 and is used in a variety of roles including: command, reconnaissance, tactical patrol, fire-support, logistics, border patrol and anti-poaching. Jankel has also put in place a comprehensive global support solution that is delivering all aspects of in-service support to the range of customers now operating their Jankel Fox vehicles.

Andrew Jankel, Chairman at Jankel said: “this is an important milestone for Jankel as we see over 500 of our Jankel Fox tactical vehicles having been delivered to over fifteen end user groups. That’s a significant achievement creating UK-held Intellectual Property and enabling Jankel to further grow the team, creating and sustaining skilled engineering jobs. The programmes have demonstrated our flexibility in producing and exporting vehicles globally including through licensed manufacture in-country, to satisfy local build requirements “a model that can be replicated anywhere.” He added: “I think there are three main points to make about the Jankel Fox. 1) it’s an extremely capable and flexible platform that is now battle-proven on multiple operations. 2) our approach of using modified off-the-shelf base vehicles delivers the required capability but at an affordable price. 3) because the Jankel Fox is based on the world-renowned and supremely reliable Toyota chassis’, remote users can tap into a global support network literally, anywhere. At the same time, we’ve developed a comprehensive support solution to complement that.”

Rheinmetall is making another important contribution to strengthening NATO’s European member nations: starting in late 2026, Norway will be taking delivery of almost 300 advanced TG3 MIL 8×8 military trucks, worth over €150 million. The contract was signed on 31 May 2023 in Oslo by Gro Jeare, director of the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA), and Michael Wittlinger, chairman of the board of management of Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV).

In terms of volume, it is the largest single call-off of trucks to date under the framework contract concluded between Rheinmetall, Norway and Sweden. Earmarked for the Norwegian armed forces, the package encompasses multiple vehicle variants, including hook loader trucks, special vehicles with crane and hook loader systems as well as trailers and flatracks.

The primary purpose of the vehicles will be to enhance the transport capacity and operational capabilities of the Norwegian military. The latest call-off represents less than half of the necessary logistic vehicles covered by the framework contract, meaning that follow-up orders from Norway and other Scandinavian nations are likely.

“We see this follow-up order as clear proof of the professional and partner-like cooperation in recent years as well as the compelling performance of our products”, declares   Michael Wittlinger. “As we see it, the fact that more and more NATO armed forces are opting for our TG and HX vehicles is an important step toward greater interoperability and resilience.  We take our responsibility to supply the best possible systems here very seriously.”